The Nimrod Curse
by a-little-bit-irked
Summary: Its the summer after 5th year, and so much has changed for Harry since 'that' night at the MoM. But that's nothing compared to what is about to happen. Harry does not know who he can trust. An ancient curse baffles Harry and others...
1. A xx Change

[OotP compliant - except maybe the last chapter or so. May refer to details in HBP/DH]

[Disclaimer and A/Ns on my profile page]

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_Friday, June 30_

It was the final morning at Hogwarts and students were rushing around, busy with goodbyes and last minute packing. Harry Potter on the other hand, was subdued, almost unaware of all of the excitement around him . Unlike the other students, he was not looking forward to returning to his family. After breakfast, Harry went out to the owlery and called for his owl, Hedwig. The beautiful white owl landed on his shoulder and began grooming her masters hair.

"Hey, girl," Harry said to her as he gently stroked her belly. "Listen, I don't know what things are going to be like once I get 'home'. I think it'll be safer for you to fly down on your own. Stay out of site until you know its safe to come by my window, OK? I'll leave it open all the time. I should have enough food and treats for you to last the summer, I stocked up the last time I was in Hogsmeade. Alright?"

Although the bird never stopped her preening, Harry new she understood. When both boy and bird were done giving attention to the other, the owl flew away and the boy walked back towards the castle to meet up with his friends.

* * *

Harry spent the whole train ride staring out of the window - brooding. Harry knew he would never be the same again. He knew that since that fateful night at the Ministry of Magic he would forever be different. That night he lost his godfather. That night he was possessed by Voldemort. That night he had the weight of the Wizarding World placed on his shoulders. Even the professors started treating him differently. Or maybe they hadn't, but he was so changed that he felt as if they were.

Harry now knew why Voldemort had gone after his family when he was a baby. He understood now why they went into hiding. Some stupid prophecy, made by a half drunk phony! Unfortunately, as fake as the diviner was, the prophecy itself was very real. Now, Harry was stuck with the task of ridding the world of Voldemort, or die trying. While he was having his mental pity-party, his friends - Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna, were trying to draw him into conversation.

"Are you worried about summer with your family?" Hermione asked him.

"Maybe they'll be nicer to you this year," Ron said hopefully.

Harry didn't hold out much hope for that. "Ron, the day the Dursleys treat me well is the day that Snape and I sit around sipping cocoa and have a heart-to-heart talk." Everyone in the compartment giggled, and Harry turned his attention back towards the window. As much as things have changed for him, Harry knew he could count on summers in Surrey to be full of taunting, hunger and hard work. It was almost a relief to him to know that some things would never change.

After the train pulled into King's Cross station, Harry listlessly pulled his trunk and empty owl cage from the compartment and disembarked the train. He half-heartedly said goodbye to his friends, not even promising them he would write.

When he crossed the barrier into the muggle side of King's Cross, he was met with the sight of his nervous aunt, irritated uncle and bored cousin. _Yep, _ he thought to himself, _nothing here has changed. Back to 'life as normal' with the Dursleys._

Harry Potter forgot - nothing in his life is normal.

---


	2. B xx Cracks in the Foundation

[Disclaimer and A/Ns on my profile page]

* * *

[Previously, On The Nimrod Curse....]

_Yep, _ he thought to himself, _nothing here has changed. Back to 'life as normal' with the Dursleys._

Harry Potter forgot - nothing in his life is normal.

* * *

The car ride from King's Cross to Privet Drive passed much the same as every other year. As Vernon drove, he grumbled under his breath about the other drivers on the road. Petunia sat beside him, gripping the over-the-door handle. Every once in a while she would squeeze her eyes shut and grip the handle even tighter. Harry was sure that if he could see over the seat, he would see her slamming her foot to the floor-board, as if trying to use the breaks. Dudley was looking out the window, but every once in a while he would ask his parents a question in a whining voice. By the time they reached Privet Drive, Dudley was promised dinner and a movie out that night.

After pulling into the driveway of number 4, Vernon killed the engine and popped open the boot of the car. Petunia and Dudley were out of the car and racing towards the front door before Harry even got out of the car. Harry first removed Hedwig's empty cage from the boot and set it on the ground. As he turned to pull his trunk out of the boot, he saw Vernon hoisting it out and placing it on the ground. Harry had barely pulled his hands away from the car in time, as Vernon slammed the boot shut. A wide-eyed Harry stammered out thanks to his equally wide-eyed uncle.

Vernon glanced between the boy in front of him and the trunk he had just removed from the car. "Just... get this stuff up to your room. And no funny business," He blustered, waving his arms wildly. Vernon rushed off towards the house, leaving a confused Harry staring after him.

* * *

Harry struggled his trunk and empty bird cage up the stairs. The first thing he noticed was the door to his room. All of the locks and bolts had been removed from around the door. His room seemed the same as he had left it. The small bed against the wall across from the door. Between the bed and the door was a small, two drawer night table. On the night table was a small lamp, with no lampshade. On the same wall as the door was a rickety desk and its matching wobbly chair. Past the desk, on the same wall, was a small wardrobe. On the final wall of the room was the window. He entered the room and placed the empty bird cage on the desk, which left only enough room on the desk for a standard notebook. He then went to open the window - as he had promised Hedwig he would. That is when he noticed the magazines. by the foot of his bed, where he normally kept his trunk, there were piles of glossy, colourful, _women's_ magazines.

He was still gaping like a fish at the magazines when he heard a tapping at his door. His aunt was standing in the doorway, unable to enter the room because his trunk was blocking the entrance.

"Help me with this," She said, pointing down at the trunk. Harry pulled the trunk into the room as Petunia pushed it. They settled it along-side his bed. There was just enough room for the door to open without hitting the trunk. Harry would have to climb over the trunk to get into and out of bed everyday.

"I'm getting rid of all of my old magazines. These are just the most recent ones and I haven't been able to get through them yet," Petunia explained. "I don't want them cluttering up the house so I put them here. I should be able to finish going through them in about 2 weeks."

Harry just shrugged. It did not really matter to him one way or another, except for the inconvenience of having to climb over his trunk to get to his bed.

"We are going out for a bit," His aunt informed him. "If you are hungry, there is some leftover meatloaf in the refrigerator." Petunia paused and looked around the room. "Just clean up after yourself."

Harry could do nothing but blink at her. _I can take food, _he thought to himself.

Harry realized his aunt was fidgeting nervously, and avoiding looking at him."If you go out take a key.... we should be home by 11."

"Uh, OK. Thanks. Have a good time." Harry said lamely as his aunt left the room.

_That was very odd_, he decided.

The sound of the front door closing snapped Harry out of his daze. He quickly pulled his invisibility cloak, photo album and some food out of his trunk. He had to move the trunk out of the way to get to the loose floorboard under his bed. He decided it was too difficult for him to have the trunk next to his bed. He spent the next 10 minutes moving the piles of magazines next to his bed, and his trunk to the foot of the bed. When he was done he flopped down in the bed and threw his arm over his eyes.

Hs thoughts once again returned to Sirius, the prophecy and what a joke his life was. He could not get over that fact that he was supposed to defeat Voldemort. Him, a scrawny, knock-kneed, undersized, average intelligence, near-sighted, not-even-16-year-old **boy** - was supposed to vanquish a fully trained, highly learned, 60+ year old man. Ha, yeah, right!

Harry's growling stomach snapped him out of his thoughts. Deciding that since Aunt Petunia told him about the meatloaf, that he really was allowed to eat it, Harry went downstairs to the kitchen. He made himself a cold-meatloaf sandwich and had some juice to drink. After cleaning up the mess he made he returned to his room, and his stormy thoughts.

He fell asleep worrying about how to live up to the expectations of the prophecy. And three hours later he woke up from a nightmare - Draco Malfoy and Dudley were laughing at him, telling him he couldn't save time - so how could he save the world.... It was not his worst nightmare, but he knew that once he was awake there would be no falling back asleep. In an effort to keep his mind from spiraling into depressing thoughts, Harry grabbed the top magazine and started flipping through it.

Four magazines later, and after a huge number of really dumb articles

... hot lipstick colours for the fall...

...10 fashion no-nos (who would wear something that reveals their bra straps??) ...

and a few articles that might be worth a second look

... 10 things you don't know about kissing...

...10 equipment free exercises ...

Harry decided women were totally bizarre creatures. What is the obsession with lists of 10? Strangely enough, he had enough weird thoughts running thru his head that he was able to fall asleep again.

He dreamed of Tonks - who was wearing a mini skirt with western boots (fashion no-no #4) - trying to give him a makeover (_The pale blue streaks in your hair will bring out the colour of your eyes!_) while Hermione - clutching a hot pink copy of Hogwarts, A History - was giving him the 'How Large is Your Emotional Range' quiz (_If you had answered __**A. **__instead of __**C.**__ then you_ _would be up to a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon_). Harry's odd dreams continued the whole night.


	3. G xx Ripping Seams

[Disclaimer and A/Ns on my profile page]

* * *

[Previously, On The Nimrod Curse....]

_Harry's odd dreams continued the whole night._

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Saturday, July 1 - 9:15 AM

Harry woke up to the sounds of Aunt Petunia getting breakfast ready in the kitchen. He realized that he had slept pretty well, considering how strange his dreams were. Harry also realized that he was feeling more refreshed than he had the last few weeks. Apparently a nightmare free night went a long way to driving away the depressing thoughts he had been having. He decided to try and greet the new day with a positive attitude, so he washed up and went to meet his family in the kitchen for breakfast.

Breakfast was a near silent affair, save for the clinks of cutlery against the dishes. No one at the table commented when he took three slices of bacon, or seconds on toast. At the end of the meal Harry began to clear the table, more out of habit than desire, and Petunia started washing the dishes. Dudley announced that he was going by his friends and that they would likely end up in the mall. Vernon excused himself to go watch the tele. Harry was about to ask his aunt if she had any chores for him to do, but decided that he was not going to _ask_ for work. He politely excused himself and returned to his room.

Harry realized very quickly that there was very little for him to do in his room. _Maybe doing some chores wouldn't be such a bad idea, _he thought. At least it would keep him occupied. In the meanwhile, he unpacked his 'summer clothes' - 3 pairs of whale size jeans and 5 'well-worn' whale size shirts. When he was done he flopped down on the bed. It was almost a shame that they did not give out summer assignments to OWL students, at least that would have given him something to do. As the minutes ticked by, the boredom set in. With the boredom came his downward-spiralling thoughts. In a grand attempt to avoid oppressive thoughts he grabbed a magazine.

_Geez, these things are real trash..._

After several brainless articles ('Eyebrow Tweezing', 'Hair Color Catastrophes', 'What He Really Thinks About Your Best Friend') he came across something... inspirational. The title jumped out at him: 'The Top 10 Tips to Boost Self Confidence'. _What is the deal with lists of 10?_

The Top 10 Tips to Boost Self Confidence

Do you need a confidence boost? Here are the best tips that we found to help you on your way...

The first three tips have to do with how you appear to other people:

1. Dress nicely

2. Stand up straight

3. Smile

When others look at you they will see someone with self confidence. They will treat you as someone who has self confidence. It reflects back on you, if they believe it then it must be true!

The next three are tips you should do for yourself

4. Exercise

5. List your good/strong points and read the list every day

6. Stick to positive friends

Without getting in to the physiology of sports, exercise makes you feel good and look good - so you should do it!

You need the positive reinforcement that these things give to strengthen your self image.

All of these things have positive sensory feedback - feeling energized after a work-out, hearing good things about yourself, seeing friends smiling at you.

These next two tips are to keep yourself focused on what is important

7. Be true to yourself

8. Don't sweat the small stuff

Trying to kowtow to others' expectations and worrying about every [negative] thing are energy sappers.

Save your energy for the things that are within your control.

Use your energy to stay focused on your goals and aspirations and you will succeed. Your successes, even small ones, will build your self confidence.

9. Have a secret

OK girls, this is what I refer to as 'the naughty underwear' tip. If you are wearing sexy underwear under your clothes you walk and act differently. You know its there, and it brings a smile to your face. It is a big ego boost when you know something that no one else does!

10. When in doubt - fake it!

When you are doubting yourself stand tall and smile, so no one can take advantage of you feeling low and make you feel worse!

Harry did not need some quack article in a women's magazine to tell him that his self confidence was shot. He could not even remember a time that he had any self confidence. Between being a freak at home and famous (or infamous) in the wizarding world, he never really had a chance to build a sense of self - or to be confident about who he was. When he thought about someone with self confidence Bill Weasley came to mind. Bill seemed to radiate self assurance, and not like Malfoy who radiated self importance. Harry decided that maybe if he felt better about himself that he might be able to stop some of his moodiness. Harry went to his trunk and pulled out some parchment and a quill and began to collect his thoughts.

_The 'easy' things are 2, 3, 8 and 9. Those are things that I just need practice to do, but not any preparation._

6. _Is also something that doesn't need planning. I think all my friends are pretty supportive. Hermione gets a bit naggy sometimes, but overall she is a good influence for me. You can't get more positive than the twins! Or Luna..._

1. _Well, I can't do anything about my wardrobe right now. What can I do about it?_

He scribbled on the parchment _**1.**_ _**Diagon Alley? - Earn money?**_

4. _Maybe I can go running every day. Oh, there was an article in one of the other magazines about exercise_

Harry leaned over to the stack of magazines and pulled out the ones that he had flipped through the night before. He tore out the few articles that interested him and re-read the articles about exercise. He then made the following notes on his parchment _**4. Running - situps - pushups - lunges - squats (increase intensity over time)**_

5. _Hmmm... maybe I'll do that later_

7. 'B_e true to yourself'. I don't even know who I am really, how can I be true to myself... I guess I have to put this with #5 and work on it later._

10. _Well I am not going to wear sexy underwear! I have lots of secrets, hell my biggest problem - the prophecy - is a secret. But I need a fun secret, the kind that makes you smile..._

Harry decided to get started right away. He stood up and began pacing back and forth in his little room. He was very careful with his posture and he smiled the whole time. He felt like an idiot.

Instead, Harry sat down and tried to write a list of his good characteristics. When he got stumped after 'nice eyes' and 'good flyer', he fell back on his bed - with his arm covering his eyes - and began to think about all the things he wasn't. He was not particularly handsome. He was not strong - physically or magically. He was not really bright, like Hermione. He was not going to be able to defeat the Dark Lord.

And he was not alone in his room.

"Harry, its 12:30. Would you like some lunch?" His aunt was standing in the doorway, giving him an odd look.

Harry removed his arm from his eyes. He was not able to keep the puzzled look off of his face. He was certainly not used to being invited to meals with the family. His aunt began fidgeting, realizing just how strange the request must have sounded coming from her. Harry decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and got up and joined his aunt for lunch in the kitchen.

Lunch was less quiet than breakfast was. It was only Harry and Petunia at the meal, and Petunia seemed determined to draw her nephew into conversation.

"So, how did you do in your classes this year?" was Petunia's first attempt.

Harry did not respond to any of her questions with more than a shrug or an odd look.

Harry decided he had had enough when she asked "Do you have a girlfriend?".

"Aunt Petunia, pardon me for being blunt, but what the hell is going on?"

His aunt took a moment to gather her thoughts. "This year, when Vernon and I would discuss your return, both of us realized that the way we now regard you has changed. Maybe it is because of you saving Dudley last summer, who knows."

"So removing the locks from the door and the meals..."

"Guilt. Plain and simple. We have realized that we haven't treated you very fairly, and we are _trying_ to be decent. It seems like less effort on our parts to treat you like this, instead of working up a great amount of steam over nothing in order to continue to treat you the way we had."

Harry was shaking his head incredulously. He could not believe that his 'family' could change their opinions of him so quickly

"Vernon and I," His aunt continued, "have decided that you will be free to come and go as you please this summer. You may take meals with the family or on your own. The only stipulation is that If you decide to eat on your own please clean up after yourself. Also, we would appreciate it if once a week you could do the gardening."

Harry agreed to do the gardening. He was bored out of his mind anyways, this would give him something to do.

return to his room return to the lists... no new ideas.. flop in bed - assume brooding position

pet found him that way again

"I was going to go out for a bit. I just wanted to tell you that you would be alone until about 7 tonight."

"OK"

She looked at him funny, "You seem to be doing that a lot lately."

"Doing what?"

"Lying on your bed just like that," She said pointing at him

"Oh, well, yeah, I got a lot on my mind."

"Anything I can help with?" Petunia looked puzzled that she had asked.

Harry was surprised at the question, to say the least. But he thought it over and figured that it couldn't hurt to ask for help with some of his ideas.

"Uum.. I need some clothes that fit.. and I need something to do - you know, to get my mind off of everything. You know its so bad that I am actually looking forward to the gardening that you asked me to do."

"Hmm, well the shed needs cleaning and painting - the fence needs painting too. Maybe we could work something out that we pay you to do that?"

"_You_ guys would pay me?" Harry asked, incredulously.

"I will mention it to Vernon but it should be fine. It will save us hiring a handyman to do it. How about half of the handyman's rate? I know you wont slack off and that you do good work."

Dumbfounded, Harry agreed to the terms.

"You know," Petunia continued "I am sure the neighbors could use work with odd jobs like that too."

Maybe," Harry agreed, "But would they hire the local criminal?"

Petunia winced. "About that, I am sure we could say something convincing to let them know you are safe. We could say that you were voted by your faculty the most reformed student this year, and we want to encourage that... "

"Yeah... maybe... thanks." Harry said, his mind whirling with possibilities.

"Dinner will be at 7," She said to her distracted nephew.

......

While his aunt way away, Harry started making plans. After consulting a calendar he decided that he would work every day of the week but Mondays. His birthday was on a Monday, which is why he chose that day. This would also give him one day a week to shop or just totally relax. He also decided to leave Tuesday mornings available for doing things by the Dursleys. He would not book more than two work sessions a day, even if they would end up being very short - one in the morning and one in the afternoon, for no more than four hours. He would ask half of what a gardener would take for an hour of regular gardening, painting and cleaning work - and a little bit more for really heavy moving work. He sketched out a flyer, he would hopefully get Dudley to help him reproduce it on the computer and print it. If not he would have to copy it by hand numerous times.

Harry was feeling great. He had somewhere to direct his energy and felt that he would actually be able to attain his goal of buying new clothes this summer, that and he may have something to keep him busy. He realized it was much to stand tall and smile when he felt like this, than it did earlier that day.

~*~*~*

In keeping with setting goals and trying to take steps to reach them, Harry decided to eat by himself at 6, so that he could go for a run at 8 - once the sun was down and the weather was cooling off. He felt that getting into good physical condition would not only help him work this summer but could only help him in the future dealing with Voldemort.

Harry sat with his family during dinner but did not eat. He explained that he had eaten earlier, so that he could go running he explained that since they were making an effort to be decent to him, he wanted to pay them back in kind. Over dinner they discussed many things: Vernon's job, Dudley's school and Petunia's garden club. When Harry mentioned wanting to work this summer and some of the plans he layed out, Dudley agreed (for £5 payment) to make up his flyers and print them out. After dinner, Dudley gave Harry a few spiral notebooks. Harry decided to keep one by the phone for messages (_Hopefully, after all this planning people will actually call!), _and kept one in his nightstand for all of the little lists and notes he was writing. He tucked all of the articles he was saving into that notebook too. The other notebooks he kept in the desk drawer.

Harry got dressed for his run. He did not know how the wards worked or what areas they covered (_Why didn't Dumbledore explain that to me?)_. He figured that his old school must be in the wards, so he planned out a 2 kilometer loop for running. He figured he would know how far he ran, based on how many times he did the loop..

To his disappointment, Harry only made it twice around. He tried to convince himself that twice was better than nothing, and that if he stuck to it that he would get better over time. After stretching he did a few pushups and situps, and then showered.

That night he fell into the first dreamless sleep that he had had in years.

---


	4. D xx Bits and Pieces

[Disclaimer and A/Ns on my profile page]

---

[Previously, On The Nimrod Curse....]

_That night he fell into the first dreamless sleep that he had had in years_

----

(Sunday, July 2)

Consciousness came slowly to Harry. He had such a good nights sleep that he was reluctant to let it go. As he stretched and turned over - hoping to fall back asleep - he heard a familiar _hoot. _ Actually, he heard his familiar's _hoot._ His eyes popped open.

"Hedwig!" The snowy owl came to her owner when he called. "Hey girl, how was your flight over? Did you do a lot of hunting? You would never believe what is going on here...." Harry continued his one sided conversation as he rubbed Hedwig's feathers. He explained that it looked like this summer he would not be locked in and that he would be allowed enough food. Still, he suggested she only fly around the neighborhood at night, as not to attract attention. When Harry was done talking, Hedwig made some bird sounds - which Harry took to mean she understood - and flew over to her cage to get some rest.

Harry, now fully awake, finally got himself out of bed. He double checked that Hedwig had food and water. It was still early for a Sunday, so after Harry washed up and dressed he went downstairs to make breakfast for his family. It amazed him how much more he enjoyed cooking when he was doing it by choice. He was convinced that the food tasted even better than usual, but that might have been because he was allowed to eat it fresh, instead of having to wait until everyone else was done.

During breakfast, Vernon demanded to know when Harry was going to do the garden. He started in on one of his 'you will earn your keep' rants, when Harry explained that he would be doing their gardening every Tuesday, and if he had any other work he would be more than willing to do it - for a price. Vernon nearly busted a gut at Harry's audacity for asking for money. Luckily, Petunia was able to calm him down before it got out of hand.

After breakfast, Harry and Dudley went to make up Harry's flyer. It was a simple task on the computer and within a short time Harry had quite a lot of them to post.

**********************************

Teenage boy available for gardening and odd jobs

for more information call Harry

**********************************

At the bottom of the flyer were little pull tabs with his name and number, so anyone interested could just pull it off instead of having to write it down. He spent most of the rest of the day going around the neighborhood and posting his notices.

--

The next day there were quite a few calls regarding Harry's signs. None of the calls were for Harry though, they were all for Petunia - asking her if she knew about the postings. She told them each the story that she and Harry had agreed on, elaborating on it as needed. When she was asked for the fourth time why he still dressed like a vagabond, Petunia decided that she needed to get him something decent to wear. If for no other reason but to save her reputation (and what better reason what there than that?). By the end of the day Harry had a decent pair of jeans, a few simple T-shirts that fit and a new pair of trainers. All were bought at a discount store, but Harry was quite pleased to have clothes that fit him.

---

For the rest of the week, calls continued to come in, but except for the Dursley's and Mrs. Figg, no one had actually hired Harry. He even walked around the neighborhood and asked shop owners if they had any work for him. By the end of the week he had already completed all of the odd-jobs that the Dursley's had for him. He was getting desperate for something to occupy his time. Every few days he would send Hedwig out with letters to his friends. Correspondence was a pleasant distraction for Harry, but only took up a very small amount time. He even started reading all of his old textbooks. He just needed something to do!

Every night he ran, and stretched and did pushups and situps. Progress was slow but he was determined to focus on the long term goal of getting into shape and feeling better about himself. Running seemed to have the added benefit of helping him sleep at night. Harry was lucky, since returning to Privet Drive his nightmares had stopped. The dreams he was having were like collages of things. Many of the dreams incorporated some of the articles he had read (which was just weird), or things that he had learned in the past. As the week progressed, his dreams began to include memories of being yelled at or hit by the Dursleys. Some of his dreams had flashes of Snape yelling at him too.

One disappointing part of the week was that his brand new clothes had shrunk in the wash. While it was possible that his shirts were tighter because he had been adding some muscle, that was not the reason that his pants were shorter. Luckily, the clothes were just a bit big to begin with. He hoped they did not shrink anymore.

---

Calls finally started coming in for gardening. A notebook was kept by the phone for Harry's messages and schedule. Harry would show up on-time for each of his jobs, dressed in Dudley's old clothes (that's about all they were good for really). He worked very hard at the jobs, and asked each of his customers to recommend him to others.

As the month progressed more and more jobs came in. He had a group of 'regulars' for which he performed weekly gardening maintenance. One day was spent helping a handyman build a pergola for one of the neighbors. Harry's job had been mostly hauling the wood, holding it in place and then staining it after the pergola was complete. He had also cleaned out a number of garages and sheds.

Physically, Harry could see a difference in himself. He was a bit more muscular and much tanner. He also had grown, he was now as tall as Dudley. It seemed like every Monday, Harry would go to the mall and buy new clothes because what he bought the week before was not fitting as well.

Emotionally, Harry was growing confused at his relatives' behaviour. Vernon seemed to run hot and cold. Well, everything with Vernon was always extreme. Now it seemed that Vernon was either yelling at him or giving him long thoughtful stares. Harry never knew his uncle could be thoughtful. That made it even more creepy for Harry to be on the receiving end of one of those stares.

Petunia, Harry was convinced, had multiple personality disorder. Sometimes she would act almost motherly - though Harry had a hard time attributing that word to his aunt when it came to him. She would try to engage him in conversation about himself, and she always seemed to be updating Harry on the comings-and-goings of the rest of the household. The rest of the time she would ignore him, like he was not even in the same room as her.

Dudley was the least confusing to him. They had reached a tentative truce after Harry saved his cousin's life the summer before. Basically they would avoid fighting with each other. Interaction was kept to a minimum, and there was little hostility left between them.

His dreams were getting more vivid - and subsequently, his sleep less restful. There were many scenes where he was being mistreated by the Dursleys or Snape. He assumed that his guilt over Sirius's death was bringing that on. It seemed logical to him that his subconscious was yelling at him, or punishing him, for what he had done. Many times he would dream of Sirius or Remus leaving him. This also made sense to him. Harry felt very isolated at his relative's house. He knew that even though he was in contact with his friends, that he felt abandoned and lonely.

---

On the night of July 30, Harry prepared for his regular birthday ritual of staying up till midnight. The window to his room was open, as it had been all summer. He put extra owl food and water by Hedwig's cage for the owls that he was expecting. He brought his aunt the last stack of magazines that was left in his room. All month, each time he was finished reading a magazine he would put it in the kitchen for Petunia to deal with. Harry straightened out his room, putting all his friends' letters and his textbooks in his trunk, and his clothes in his wardrobe. Once he was done, he dressed in a T-shirt and worn pajama bottoms. He was laying on his bed, staring out the window - waiting for both midnight and the owls to arrive.

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(A huge thank you to all who have reviewed/favorited/alerted this story! I would love to know how you found it and what you think of it.)


	5. H xx The Walls Come Tumbling Down

[Disclaimer and A/Ns on my profile page]

* * *

[Previously, On The Nimrod Curse....]

_He was laying on his bed, staring out the window - waiting for both midnight and the owls to arrive._

* * *

One day a month, Remus Lupin was a monster. A real, live, slathering, bloodthirsty beast. The other 29 days of the month Remus fought to be a gentle human being, in hopes of 'making up' for the one night that he was anything but. He had been this way since he was a small, 7 year old boy, and was bitten by a werewolf. It was not easy to be a kind person when almost no one around you could put out of their minds what you were one night a month.

There was a time in his life that Remus considered himself lucky. He had friends. Not only did they know of his nature, but they had tried to ease the suffering it caused him. He often thought back to a time when he did not have to suffer his transformations alone. It was the best years of his life. Unfortunately that time was truly over for him. All of his animagus friends had either proven untrustworthy, or had been murdered. The last one just over a month ago. Every day, Remus felt the sting of Wormtail's betrayal, and mourned James' and Sirius' deaths - just like every day he felt the beast stir inside of him.

In order to prove that he was a good person, Remus worked constantly for The Order of the Phoenix. He had only recently finished running some errands for Headmaster Dumbledore and managed to grab a bite of dinner. It was the new moon tonight, so he was at his most human. He knew that he had guard duty, to watch over Harry, from 4 to 10 AM. There was a constant, hidden guard on Privet Drive this summer, though Harry was unaware of this. He was to meet Snape next to Arabella Figg's garage a few minutes before 4 AM for the 'pass down'. Guard duty was bitter sweet for him. He enjoyed being able to watch Harry, but Harry always reminded him of what he had lost in his life - his beloved friends.

Remus was able to settle himself down for sleep by 10:30. His sleep was unfortunately not a restful one. Even while he was sleeping, he knew that his dreams were not really dreams - but memories. Memories of events that had magically been blocked, and were only now being released. When he was finally able to pull himself from sleep's embrace, he was furious at having been lied to and manipulated. He was also sad because of all the he had missed out on. Remus felt cheated. He decided that he had to see Harry right away, regardless of the time. He quickly dressed and apparated over to Mrs. Figg's home.

Remus felt that it would not be wise to enter the Dursley home without first alerting the current guard. Unfortunately, he could not find Snape anywhere. Remus assumed that Snape was doing a circuit of the neighborhood. Disappointed, Remus went back to Arabella's to wait for Snape to arrive for the 'pass down'. Then he would be able to go talk to Harry.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Severus Snape was a Master in the art of potions making. He understood that subtle things - heat, barometric pressure, the freshness of the ingredients, the time of day or cycle of the moon that indgredients were harvested - would all influence the outcome of the potion. Similarly, he used these skills in reading people. He was fluent in 'body language'. He knew that the shifting on ones eyes, or the tilt of the head could reveal much more than the words spoken. This, and his photographic memory, made him a great spy and a very intimidating character.

So, when there were the tiniest changes in his feelings towards Harry Potter, Severus Snape noticed. He remembered his sense of shock at feeling _respect_ for the boy who was able to organize and teach a secret defense class, right under the nose of the Ministry toad. Respect. Definitely not one of the feelings that was in his normal repertoire in regards to the Potter scion. The burning hatred and anger that he felt when the boy invaded his pensive... that was normal, that was right. Not that flash of respect. And certainly not that moment of distress when the boy had conveyed to him (of all people) a message for the Order about the cur Black being at the MOM. Nor the terror (outright panic) at finding out it was all a trap. The worst was the _concern_ that he felt, each time he looked at Potter after his return from the MOM and saw the boy receding farther into himself.

No, not normal. Not right at all.

But normalcy was returned when he felt resentment each time the Headmaster would ask him to serve as guard over the boy this summer. It was rediculous for him, Potions Master - spy - Head of House and all around BUSY person to spend hours watching the boy work at a neighbors, roam the stores, or to stare at the boys house while he was within.

But that was exactly what he ended up doing, the night of July 30. He was on duty with the 10 PM - 4 AM shift. He had arrived at Arabella Figg's home at 9:55 PM - precisely on time to meet with the previous guard (_I do not care about the duration of his nightly run, only that the boy is safely esconced inside the home_). Most of the Order members used a large oak tree in the yard across from the Dursley's home as cover. After casting a disillusion spell and a 'notice me not' charm' on himself, and several charms on the surrounding area, Snape sat on the ground next to the tree and watched the home. In his mind he was outlining his next article to 'Perspectives in Potions'. It was leaning against that very tree that he fell asleep... not normal at all.

Even less normal was the dreams he had - _No, not dreams - memories _Snape thought to his dream-self. For as unbelievable as it was for him to view, they lacked the special absurdity that all dreams have.

Snape's dreams came to an abrupt stop when Potter's snowy white owl landed next to him and pecked him into consciousness. He snapped himself into awareness quickly, and took the note she was carrying. It was written in a hurried, feminine hand - most definitely not Potter's messy scrawl.

Something is very wrong here  
Something magical  
Please help  
Petunia Dursley - Harry's Aunt

Shocked by the contents of the letter, and by his moment of fear for the boy, he stared at the bird. He shook himself out of his stupor and crossed the street towards the Dursley residence. He was not looking forward to entering Number 4 Privet Drive to resolve whatever crisis was occurring. He was even less looking forward to reacquainting himself with Petunia Evans.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

About a month before her nephew's return, Petunia's feelings for him began to 'soften'. It began so slowly that she had not noticed the change at all. Talking about the summer (which always included _him_) did not cause that certain tight feeling she always got in her chest - a not-quite painful squeeze, almost like her breath and heart beats were being stolen. While she may have felt that something was 'off', she was unable to pinpoint what it was..

Just before the boy's return, she had put her magazines in his room. She knew she could have kept them in her room, or even in the empty guest room but _that_ room was always used as a storage room for their junk - even when that junk was her nephew. When she saw the condition of his room she felt... like her sister's son deserved better (and wasn't that just the oddest feeling for her?). During the year they had dumped a number of things in the room, the room was cluttered and dirty. She hated clutter and she hated dirt. She tried to rectify the situation by clearing out the room and giving it a good dusting. That should have satisfied the clean-freak in her, but the room still looked horrible to her eyes. She decided to buy the guest room a new mattress (not that the one in there had been used more than a few dozen times) - and the guestroom mattress she put in her nephews room. She then put decent sheets, a better pillow and a nice summer blanket on the bed. While there was little difference in the overall appearance of the room, she felt better about its condition.

When she saw her nephew at the train station, looking so lost and burdened she almost felt motherly towards him. For just an instant she wanted to take him in her arms and tell him everything would be alright.... That is when reality hit her like a lorry - her feelings towards the boy had changed.

* * *

Petunia Dursley woke up suddenly. That in itself was unusual, for she was the type of person that slowly climbed to consciousness - one sense returning at a time, until she finally opened her eyes. When she checked the clock she saw that it was only 12:20. She never woke in the middle of the night unless there was a major ruckus going on outside. But everything was quiet - too quiet. Petunia felt a definite _wrongness _in the air. Maybe it was just the strange dream she had that had woken her up.

She attempted to ignore it and go back to sleep. After tossing and turning for the better part of half an hour she finally got out of bed. _Maybe a cup of herbal tea will help settle me down._ Of course she was not convinced that anything would settle her nerves after the dream she just had - _so much of my life, passing before my eyes_. No bother, tea should do the trick. she tossed on a dressing robe and left her bedroom.

When she arrived in the hallway she immediately noticed an odd light coming from under Harry's door. It was a pulsing blueish light. It looked as if he had a TV on in his room, though that was impossible because Harry did not have a TV in his room. Determined to discover just what he did have going on in his room, she grasped the door handle, turned it and pushed the door. The door would not move. Something was very wrong, and she knew it was _magic_ that was causing it. She stood for a moment before the door, just feeling the energy that was radiating from the room. There was nothing she could do about it, so she continued to the kitchen for tea.

As she was putting the kettle up to boil, Petunia was startled by a ghostly white streak just outside her kitchen window. When said streak began tapping on the window she nearly jumped out of her skin. It was the boy's owl. Petunia opened the back door to let the owl in. The bird flew around the kitchen, hooting and squawking. It was clearly agitated about something.

"Calm down you ruddy bird," Petunia hissed at it. Unfortunately, the bird did not abide by the command.

"Just calm down. I don't need you waking up the whole bloody house."

"Too late, Mum." Dudley had entered the kitchen while his mother's attention was on the bird. "Well, the bird didn't wake me actually. I think... Mum, something is going on with Harry. I can feel it."

Finally the crazy owl had settled on the kitchen table. Dudley noticed a small package tied to her foot.

"Here bird, let me take that off of you." He received a click from the owl in response. "Why didn't you just bring it to Harry?" Dudley asked the bird.

The owl fluffed up indignantly at Dudley and squawked again.

Petunia realized the problem. "She couldn't get in." Hedwig bobbed her head in consent. "I tried his door and it wouldn't open. There must be some block on the window too." Petunia directed her remarks to her son. All of this was making her terribly nervous: her nephew's locked door, the crazy energy in the house, the owl in her kitchen - it was starting to overwhelm her. She tapped her foot nervously, waiting for the water to boil.

Dudley had been examining the box that he removed from the owl's foot. "Its a birthday gift." He put it to the side and went to get some milk from the refrigerator.

"What is that blasted owl doing on our kitchen table?" Vernon Dursley had woken up also.

"Its a bit of a story dear, I am making tea. Did we wake you?" Petunia asked her husband.

"No, you didn't wake me. I had these crazy dreams, all about the boy and .." Vernon visibly shivered. He had not noticed his wife's reaction to his statement - she was wide-eye shocked. "Well, never-you-mind. Then I couldn't get back to sleep. It feels like a storm is in the air, don't it?" All the other heads in the kitchen - including Hedwig - nodded. "And then I heard the ruckus down here."

"None of us could sleep," Dudley said, stating the obvious.

At this point Hedwig had flown to the back door and started pecking on it and made a chattering noise. Since the adults seemed very uneasy with the owl, Dudley responded to her.

"You want to go out again?" He asked as he pulled open the door. She gave her head a shake, and when the door was open she flew out just a few feet and began hooting. Dudley was about to shut the door - having not understood her - when he noticed a number of owls descending from the trees in the yard. Before they knew it, the Dursleys had half a dozen owls flying around their kitchen. Petunia had a very pinched, angry look on her face. Vernon looked like he was going to bust a vein. Dudley realized that it would be up to him to deal with these birds if they were to get out of the house again safely.

"Shhh, shush all of you." It took a moment but most of the birds seemed to settle down. "Mum, can you get them a bowl with water?"  
"I am not using my china to feed birds!" She said. She pulled out a shallow, disposable plastic plate. After filling it with water she set it on the counter. One or two of the birds went directly towards it. The rest just waited. Dudley unloaded each owl of its burden. He spoke quietly to each one, as he had seen his cousin do. This seemed to keep them all calm - except for one small, hyperactive bird that had yet to stop circling the kitchen. When Dudley was finished with all but the smallest bird he opened the door for them to leave. He put the plastic water dish outside in case they wanted more.

When Dudley re-entered the kitchen, the white owl snapped her beak in annoyance. Instantly, the little hyper bird came down from the ceiling. The large owl cuffed the smaller owl with her wing. The small owl stumbled from the hit, but did not fly off again.

"They must know each other, " Dudley commented. He was finally able to get the package off of the tiny owls leg. Dudley opened the door for the small owl to leave, but it wouldn't. After a brief bird discussion between the snowy-white and little-hyper owls, the small owl left the kitchen. Dudley saw that it was flitting around in the back yard, apparently not going back to its master.

After everyone had a cup of tea, and Petunia disinfected every surface of the kitchen, Vernon went back up to bed. "I have work in the morning," He groused.

By two o'clock Dudley and Petunia had has three cups of tea each. Dudley had opened the back door a number of times. Each time he saw that weird glow coming from his cousin's room. He also noticed that the hyper owl had not left the area yet.

Petunia had been thinking while she was drinking her tea. She thought about those odd dreams she had, and that Vernon said that he had dreamed also. She thought of her ambivalent feelings towards her nephew. Most of all, she thought of the obvious magic that was in the air.

"Something is definitely wrong," She said, surprising herself that she had vocalized her thoughts.

"What can we do about it?" Asked Dudley. Petunia just shrugged. She did not have the ability to deal with magical problems.

Hedwig hooted softly, snapping Petunia's and Dudley's attention towards her. They both stared at the bird for a moment.

"A note?" Dudley asked.

"Maybe," His mother answered. "Would you take a note from me?" She asked the bird. The owl nodded its head.

"Its worth a try, Mum."

So with that, Petunia wrote a quick note and held it out to her nephew's owl.

"Make sure you get this to someone who can help," Petunia admonished, "Someone who the boy can trust."

The bird clicked angrily at Petunia (_Don't you tell me how to do my job, and protect my human!_). Petunia seemed to understand the bird's censure. With the note securely in the owl's beak, Petunia let the bird out the back door.

Number four Privet drive was once again quiet.


	6. V xx Joining of forces part 1

[Disclaimer and A/Ns on my profile page]

---

[Previously, On The Nimrod Curse....]

_Number four Privet drive was once again quiet._

--

[July 31, 2:15 AM ]

Severus Snape strode up to the front door of the Dursley residence and knocked briskly on the door. After a short wait, a very large teen-boy answered the door. The boy looked at him suspiciously, until Harry's snowy owl flew through the open door, and straight towards the kitchen.

"I'm Dudley," Said the boy, by way of introduction. "I suppose you are the one who got our note."

"Indeed," The dark figure in the door replied.

Dudley shrugged. "Follow me. There is tea in the kitchen, we can explain everything there."

During the short walk to the kitchen, Severus took in as many details of the dimly lit home as he could. He noticed its obsessive-cleanliness, and its overabundance of portraits of the portly boy - and the lack of anything Potter in sight. He could, however, feel the thrum of strong magic pulsating through the home.

As he entered the kitchen Severus saw the table laid out with three cups of tea. Hedwig was already situated on the counter.

Petunia, hearing their approach, turned - with a fake smile on her face - to greet the newcomer and her face fell.

"You!" She yelled at the wizard. She then turned to Hedwig. "You stupid bird. Did you just fly off and find the first wizard that you could. We need someone helpful not..."

Petunia's ranting was cut off by the large white owl puffing up and angrily clicking in response.

"Enough!" The potions master was losing his temper. "Mrs. Dursley, this is the boy's _familiar_. There is a reason they are called that. The owl seems to believe I can help, and I came as requested. Now please can you explain what is going on. And you," He turned to the bird, "Should know better than to argue with one such as she."

Hedwig gave Snape a nasty look - one that said _you better not prove me wrong for trusting you._

"You didn't used to sound so dignified, growing up as you did." Petunia commented nastily.

"The reason for the note, _Tuney_."

Dudley found the whole exchange very fascinating, and a bit disconcerting. He chose to keep quiet and to remain an observer for as long as he could.

"In short," Petunia began, trying to ignor who it was she was talking to. "I woke up a few hours ago. The whole house felt very.. unsettling. I decided to come down and make tea, in hopes of tiring myself out again. As I passed the boy's door I saw this unusual light coming from underneath it. I tried to open the door, hoping to find the source of the light, but the door would not budge. I came down and the owl," she pointed at Hedwig, "made its presence known to me. In addition to her there were other owls outside." Petunia pointed to the pile of packages on the counter. "They were carrying those for him. We can all feel the odd energy in the house and after so many hours I became concerned and sent the note."

"When did you first wake and notice the energy?" The wizard asked.

"It must have been around 12:15. The first time I actually looked at the clock it was 12:20."

"Please show me to the boy's room." He instructed.

The three left the kitchen, tea untouched, and climbed the stairs. Under the door to Harry's room the same odd light showed through. Snape first tried the door, with no success. He then tried a number of unlocking spells, none of which worked. Snape closed his eyes and spread his hands over the door, moving them slowly to the left and right. He was muttering quietly to himself. It looked odd to Petunia and Dudley, but he was trying to sense what type of magic was being used to keep the door secure. It was this scene that greeted Vernon when he sleepily stumbled out of his bedroom.

"Oh, are you up again Vernon?" Petunia asked as she saw her husband.

He yawned widely in response. "Whosat?" He asked, pointing to Snape.

"We sent off the owl asking for help. Mr. Snape here came to see what can be done."

"_Professor_ Snape," The wizard corrected, without bothering to turn around.

"Find anything?" Vernon asked.

At this, Snape did turn around. "No, not really. It is not any magic that I recognize. I am concerned because I can not sense what is going on behind the barrier. I need to get some supplies for when the barrier is lifted. I believe it is wise to be prepared for the worst case scenario. I suggest you all go back to sleep if you can. I will return in half an hour, and I will let myself in." Without waiting for a reply, the black-clad wizard took his leave and left the house.

After a short round of 'good-night's in the hall, Dudley and Vernon went to bed, and Petunia went to tidy the kitchen before returning to bed.

* * *

(yeah, not my greatest effort but I wanted to update before leaving on vacation...)


	7. Z xx Joining of forces part 2

[Disclaimer and A/Ns on my profile page]

---

[Previously, On The Nimrod Curse....]

_"I need to get some supplies for when the barrier is lifted. I believe it is wise to be prepared for the worst case scenario." ... Without waiting for a reply, the black-clad wizard took his leave and left the house._

--

Severus Snape returned to Privet Drive at around 3 o'clock in the morning. With him he brought a valise full of healing potions, just in case the boy needed it when the magic released him. He also brought a number of research books, hoping to find some clue as to what exactly was happening with Potter at the moment. He knew that he would not get any sleep at all for the remainder of the night because in less than an hour he was to meet Remus Lupin, in order to pass over the watch on the Potter boy. The dour potions master conjured a recliner in the hall outside of Potter's bedroom. He set a light over his shoulder and began to scan the books he brought. He had very little information to help him with his search, just that it was Potter's birthday and the wild magic that was sealing the boy in his room.

When a quiet alarm buzzed at 3:50, Snape went to meet Lupin at Arabella Figg's house. He was still unsure how he was going to sneak back into the Dursley home without Lupin noticing, but he wasn't a spy for nothing, he would manage. As he approached the meeting point he was greeted by an excited werewolf.

"Snape, finally, you're here."  
The dark haired wizard checked the time. "I am precisely on time, as usual."  
"Oh, I know, sorry. I just need to see Harry as soon as possible." Lupin explained and began walking away.

"Lupin," Snape called after him and chased him down. He knew that he had to return to Potter's home and he did not want Lupin there complicating things for him. "It is 4AM. You can not just barge into someone's home and wake them at this hour. It is not the time for tea and a chat!"

"I know that Severus." Snape hated when the werewolf used his given name. "Its just that there some things that I realized tonight that I have to explain to Harry. You wouldn't understand." There was a desperate tone in Remus' voice.

By now the two wizards were closing in on #4 Privet Drive, and Snape decided to take a risk based on Lupin's last comment.

"Yes I would," He said simply. "I would understand."

Lupin stopped dead in his tracks. He knew Snarky!Snape and was used to Sarcastic!Snape, but Sincere!Snape was a rare thing to behold.

"You are not the only one to have truths revealed to them tonight," Snape explained. He raised an eyebrow at Lupin. "It seems to be a night for odd dreams." That was as much as he was going to divulge at the moment. If Lupin had similar dreams to himself and the Dursleys then that would be enough of a confession, and if not, then it was vague enough not to endanger the Potter boy or himself.

They were standing at the large tree across from the Dursley home where the Order members often sat to keep an eye on Harry. Lupin looked around nervously, feeling suddenly edgy. "This is really, _really_, bad. Isn't it?" Lupin asked, knowing the answer and fearing it. Snape just nodded and together they crossed the street and entered the Dursley home.

Once inside, Snape briefed Lupin on the letter he had received from Petunia Dursley, and her explanation. When the reached the bedroom door ('_Nice recliner, Snape. Leather?'_) he spoke more of the magic barring entrance to Potter's bedroom

"I have done a number of curse and ward detection spells, none of them were able to help identify the magic at work."

Lupin's hands were moving over the door, Similarly to what Snape had done when he first arrived at the scene some time ago.

"I don't doubt your abilities or knowledge," Lupin began, "but do you mind if I try a few things?"

"Go right ahead." Snape was confident in his own abilities. While he was not on the level of a curse-breaker he was quite learned in all sorts of magic. When one of Lupin's spells glowed blue, Snape was reminded that Lupin would be a Master if it weren't for his monthly complication.

"What was that?" Snape snapped.

"Counter-charm detection," Lupin replied. "I don't know how much that helps though. What do we know, or suspect, so far about this wild magic?"

"The barrier seems impenetrable, even to magic." Snape began stating his theory. "The window is also blocked, but probably open, so the magic is the barrier itself, it is not locking another barrier such as the door, into place. It may be related to the fact that today is Potter's birthday."

Lupin startled at this. "It is? How did you know that?"

"His bird and others were forced to leave parcels in the kitchen because the could not enter his room." Snape explained. "And thanks to you we can assume that what is happening is the breaking of a curse, instead of the forming of one."

"Which makes sense considering the dreams." They both gave a bit of a shudder. "We assume the dreams are also related, not coincidental?"

Snape nodded in agreement.

"You should talk about them, you know," Lupin offered. "If they were anything like my dreams then it should be..."

"What is should be, _ Wolfman_, is private. If your dreams were anything like mine then your whole life would be turned on its head. You would not know who to trust, save, _perhaps,_ others that have had similar dreams. All of which that we know of are now in this house. Potter's Aunt took a chance trusting his bird with a letter. The bird, his familiar, gambled with me and I took a chance trusting you Lupin, don't make me regret it."

Before Lupin had a chance to respond to Snape's vitriol, both wizards felt a shift in the magic. After nearly five hours, the barrier to Potter's room was finally coming down.

* * *

[Thank you to all the reviewed, alerted and favorited!!]


	8. Ch xx Revival

_...both wizards felt a shift in the magic. After nearly five hours, the barrier to Potter's room was finally coming down._

* * *

Snape and Lupin were in motion as soon as they felt the shift in magical power, but they were not able to open the door for fifteen very frustrating minutes. When they were finally able to access the room they were both shocked at the sight. To say it looked like a hurricane hit the room would be accurate. The walls were filled with scratches and pock marks. The floor was covered in bits of shredded paper, clothing and other debris - apparently anything that was left out was whipped around in the magical currents. The boy on the bed was covered in scratches and cuts - and not much else. The clothes he had been wearing were completely shredded, pretty much only the cuffs and waist band of his pajama bottoms remained.

The sound of a door snicking closed snapped them out of their daze. Petunia apparently had also woken when she felt the magic die down.

"Who are you?" She asked Lupin, as she tried to gain entrance to the boy's room.

Remus blocked her from entering, or even seeing into the room.

"I am Remus Lupin, I was of friend of James' and Lily's. For the sake of his modesty, it would be best if you gave us a few minutes with Harry before you enter." Petunia's eyes grew wide as the meaning or Remus' words dawned on her.

"Could you please get us some bedsheets and clean washcloths?" He asked her. "Anything else Severus?" He asked Snape, who had entered the room and, with his back to the door, began to unload vials from his satchel, placing them on a small night-table.

"A large bowl or two would be appreciated." he answered, without bothering to turn around.

Seeing that she would get no where until the men had the boy situated, Petunia turned to gather the requested items. When she returned, Remus took the items and quickly covered Harry with one of the sheets. He called to Petunia when Harry's modesty was no longer compromised. She entered to see Snape levitating Harry off of the bed. Lupin banished the shredded sheets, pillow and Harry's remaining clothing. He repaired the major damage to the bed and laid out a clean sheet. Snape then lowered the boy back down. Harry made no sounds of protest during this maneuvering.

Once Harry was back in place, and Petunia was not distracted by the use of magic, she caught site of the room. All she could do was stare at the destruction.

Snape filled the bowl with water, warmed it and added two potions vials to the water.

"Mrs. Dursley," he said, startling Petunia out of her daze. "Could you please start going over the boy, checking his wounds for debris, removing any that there might be, and wiping him down with a clean cloth soaked in this solution." Snape then set the bowl to hover over Harry so that they would be able to reach it from anywhere around the boy.

Petunia began by checking her nephew's left shoulder and arm.

"Lupin, you have more experience with medical scans, if you would." Snape made a gesture towards the boy in the bed. Lupin realized that Snape had given up a lot to admit that someone may be better at something than he was, so without comment he ran a number of scans on Harry.

"Its odd." Remus remarked. "He has similar muscle and tendon damage that I have after a transformation. He also has bone damage."

Petunia's eyes widened in horror at the statement. Remus held up a hand, "Perhaps 'damage' is too strong a term. Its more like 'bruising' or 'stressing' to the bones, the same as his muscles and tendons. And it is not in one specific area, it is throughout his body."

"What does that mean?" Petunia asked. Neither man knew how to answer her.

Together the three of them checked all of Harry's wounds for debris, and cleaned the wounds with the solution in the bowl. At some point, Hedwig and Pig made their way into the room. When they had been mostly finished checking Harry, Petunia excused herself to get some water for the owls and a fresh pillow and blanket for Harry. This gave Lupin and Snape the opportunity to clean the boy's private areas without his aunt around.

When Petunia returned the two men were trying to rouse Harry.

"Harry, Harry can you hear me?" Remus asked the unmoving boy.

"Potter," Snape snapped impatiently, "wake up this instant."

There was no response from the boy in the bed.

"There is no choice, Severus, we will have to 'enervate' him." Remus said.

"I would prefer not." The taller wizard stated. "We don't know if he will have an adverse reaction to being brought to with magic."

Petunia, sick of the back-and-forth between the two men, took matters into her own hands.

"Harry, stop lazing about!" Petunia's voice cracked like a whip.

Instantly the boy's eyes were open. "I'm up." he croaked.

The two grown wizards gaped at Petunia, who looked away with embarrassment.

"You wanted him up. Well, he's up." She said.

Harry moaned from the bed.

Petunia approached her nephew, "I am sorry about that Harry. They said they needed you awake." she explained.

"Potter, before I give you potions for the pain and healing I need to know if you are allergic to anything?" Snape asked quietly.

"No." the boy tried to say, shaking his head at the same time. This just caused him to moan louder.

"Shhh, we know you are hurting," Remus said soothingly.

"Pain potion first." Decided Snape

Both Remus and Petunia helped Harry into a seated position so he could drink the potion. It became apparent when the pain relief potion began to work. The moaning stopped and Harry became agitated.

"Oh Merlin... the dreams." Harry began groaning. "The Headmaster... he"

"Potter, there will be time for this when we are all better rested." The potion master promised. "In the meanwhile, I there are more potions that you need to drink, and I would rather not have to give you a calming draught also."

Petunia was rubbing Harry's back and trying to shush him. The boy calmed enough that he was able to drink another three potions. Remus recognized them as the same healing regimen that he uses after his monthly transformations: a general healing potion which increases blood circulation so the body can naturally heal, a tissue repair potion for the strained muscles and tendons, and a mild bone strengthening potion to repair the minor bone damage. Snape also gave the boy a half dose of antibiotic to stave off any infection from his many cuts.

"Do you need a sleeping draught?" The potions master asked.

"No, but..." Harry replied.

"Not now Harry." Remus chided. "You rest. When you are feeling better we will talk."

When exhaustion finally claimed Harry, the adults left his room.

"I have a guest room, you are welcome to use it." Petunia told the wizards, pointing out the door to the room she was speaking of.

Snape pointed at his leather recliner. "I am already set up here, and I wish to be able to monitor the boy. Lupin, you should take the spare room."  
"I could stay in the hall with you Snape." Lupin said. "How about you conjure up another recliner for me." Lupin was smiling, cheekily.

Snape just glared at him. "Go."

Lupin shrugged off Snape's attitude but went to the guest room, thanking Petunia.

With the worry over Harry being replaced with relief that the boy was basically unhurt, the three were able to settle into sleep.

So while the early birds of Privet Drive were beginning to wake, all of the occupants of number four were finally asleep.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, favorites and C2s!


	9. T xx Gather

_So while the early birds of Privet Drive were beginning to wake, all of the occupants of number four were finally asleep._

* * *

Harry woke and held back a groan. Everything ached, not as badly as when he had woken up earlier, but still he was very stiff and sore. He laid in bed with his eyes still closed and tried to take stock of his surroundings. Harry realized that he was naked, with only a sheet covering him. He could hear Hedwig behind him, perched on his headboard. He also heard noises coming from the kitchen, where people were eating breakfast and talking quietly. His room smelled dusty, even though his window was open and there was a slight breeze coming in. He then decided to make sure his achy body was working properly. Starting at his feet he flexed and bent all of his joints. Toes, ankles, knees and so on, working his way up his body. He was grateful that he was only achy and that he was able to move freely. Finally Harry opened his eyes and looked around the room. He took in the layer of dirt throughout the room, the marks on the walls and the shredded curtains. He was quite shocked at the devastation that he saw around him.

The pain in his body was increasing a bit. He realized that the potions that he had taken earlier must be wearing off. While he wanted relief from his pain, he also wanted to get his thoughts sorted out. Harry decided to lay in bed for a bit longer before drawing attention to himself. He started thinking about the dreams he had the night before. The young man knew that they were not normal dreams. They were parts of his life played before his eyes, but not exactly memories Some were scenes from when he was too young to remember. Other scenes were from things that did not involve him directly - there was no way they could be memories. He also wondered why Snape and Lupin with there. Was it just a coincidence that they were in his some of his dreams?

After about fifteen minutes, Harry's thoughts were no more orderly - and his bladder was begging for attention. He managed to push himself into a seated position and swing his legs off the bed. He planted his feet on the ground and stood himself up - one hand helping to support himself on his nightstand and the other hand holding the sheet around him. Ignoring the mild dizzy spell he was having, he took a step. Everything was fine until his legs gave out from under him and he crumpled to the floor. Immediately, Hedwig flew out of the room.

After a very long minute of Harry being on the floor, Aunt Petunia, Dudley Lupin and Snape appeared at his door. Dudley and Remus helped him off the floor and back onto the bed.

"Are you OK?"..."Potter, what were you doing?"..."Harry, are you hurt?".."What happened"

Four different voices rang out at once.

Harry, still clutching the sheet, answered - with no small amount of embarrassment "I need to use the loo."

"I'll help you." Dudley volunteered, chuckling a bit at his cousin's situation.

"Are you still sore?" Lupin asked.

Harry nodded as Dudley helped get him off the bed and towards the door. Harry was unable to straighten himself completely and was walking hunched over. Snape held out a vial of pain-reliever for Harry. Harry drank the potion quickly and murmured a quick 'Thank you' as he handed the vial back to his professor. Dudley and Harry left the room. Lupin was looking after them with a wistful look on his face. Petunia looked worried and Snape was smirking (as usual). Dudley returned after a minute and started going through Harry's wardrobe and drawers - pulling out clothes.

"Harry decided to take a hot shower." Dudley explained and returned to the bathroom with the set of clothes.

"I can not believe I let him sleep in here with the room in this condition." Petunia scolded herself. "This room is a mess."

Lupin shot Snape a quick look. "Let us deal with it, Petunia. It will just take a minute and you should not have to deal with the mess."

"You can do that?" She asked, eying the wand in Lupin's hand.

"Of course we can." Snape scoffed.

In no time the room was cleared of debris and well dusted. The torn curtains were removed and an attempt was made at repairing the scuffed walls. Dudley had returned and admired the clean up job.

"Cool!"

"Are you sure it is wise to leave Potter alone in the shower?" Snape sneered at the teen.

"Yeah, he's OK. He said between the stuff you gave him and the hot water he is feeling better." Dudley let them know. "Besides, I wouldn't let him lock the door and he promised to give a shout if he needed anything."

After a few highly uncomfortable minutes - filled with fidgeting, sighing and scowling - the bathroom door opened and Harry emerged - fully dressed in sweatpants and a slightly too small T-shirt. Dudley was up in an instant to help him.

"I'm fine Dudley. The shower and the medicine really helped" Harry insisted, even though he was still hunched over and not walking very steadily.

"Yeah, whatever. I don't care how much you like the floor" Dudley said as he grabbed one of Harry's arms and wrapped it around his own shoulders and put his free arm around his cousin's waist - and then Harry straightened himself up. "Holy shit!" cried Dudley.

Petunia's eyes had grown wide, and she was too shocked to scold her son about his language. Harry and Dudley had frozen where they stood, with Harry looking down at his cousin. Lupin and Snape just stood there confused.

Finally Harry began to stutter, "What.. How.." He looked to the other wizards with questioning eyes, and then back at his cousin.

Dudley managed to get over his shock and get Harry back to his room and onto bed.

"What seems to be the problem?" Lupin finally asked.

"Well, didn't you see?" Petunia asked. "Harry is at least three inches taller than Dudley!"

Lupin and Snape shared a confused look. "And.." Snape prompted.

"And yesterday, " Dudley explained, as if to a small child, "I was about three inches taller than him."

"I guess we know why I ache so much." Harry said. He then buried his hands in his face. "Why can't I ever be normal?"**

Snape cast a quick spell over Harry. "Six foot four inches." He announced. Then he thought about it. Potter had always been one of the shortest boys of his year - yes, this was very unusual.

"I have been having a growth spurt of sorts." Harry admitted. "Since Easter I must have grown about three or four inches. Well, until last night that is."

If anything Petunia looked even more worried. "Well, you must be hungry. I'll bring up something for you for brunch."

Dudley wisely volunteered to help his mother, so the wizards could talk in private.

* * *

Remus helped Harry settle back on to the bed with some pillows behind him. Snape gave the boy a vial of calming draught. Harry insisted he did not need it, but he held on to it. He knew that this was not going to be an easy conversation.

"Last night," The teen began his tale, "I was waiting up for my birthday owls from my friends." Harry could tell that his potions professor was holding back a snide comment, but he continued. "It is a bit of a tradition since starting at Hogwarts that I wait up for the owls that arrive around midnight. Well, I had tidied up my room and I was restless, but since there was nothing to do really, I just sat back and waited. That is really the last _conscious_ thing I remember until seeing you both before." Harry paused, thinking of something. "Is it still the 31st?"

"Yes Harry it is, your ordeal lasted only a few hours." Remus informed him, smiling. "And happy birthday by the way. Your gifts are downstairs, shall I bring them up for you?"

"Thanks, no. Its not that important." The boy paused, took a deep breath to fortify himself and then continued. "I had these dreams. Some of them had each of you in them. The first one was about Dumbledore and Sirius. It was after the attack on Godrick's Hollow. Sirius was kind-of crazed, his hair and eyes were all wild and he was yelling at Dumbledore, saying that he was going to go get me from the house and Dumbledore should do something about finding Pettigrew. He even told the old man about Pettigrew being an animagus."

Harry had his eyes squeezed shut, tears streaming out of them. His hands were clenched into tight fists, one was precariously close to shattering the vile that Snape had given him. Remus sat on the bed next to Harry and prised the boys fingers from the vial, popped the top and made Harry drink it. Snape had taken the small wooden chair from next to the desk and brought it close to the bed for himself to sit on.

When Harry was calm enough he continued. "Dumbledore convinced Sirius to go after Pettigrew instead, saying that he would send Hagrid to get me. He said that Sirius deserved his revenge and that he understood about how angry Sirius must be over his friends betrayal. He knew all along. That bastard knew that Sirius was innocent and that Pettigrew was a rat. The whole fucking time that Sirius was in Azkaban - he knew, and did nothing about it."

By this time Petunia and Dudley were back with food for Harry. Dudley went to get the a desk chair from his room so his mother could sit with the other adults. He decided it was best for him to go out with his friends and stay out of things. Harry ignored the tray of food and continued.

"After that I saw Dumbledore obliviate Sirius so that he wouldn't remember that Dumbledore knew that Pettigrew was the secret keeper for my parents and a rat animagus. Then I saw many times that Sirius thought of escaping, or protesting his innocence but just not doing it. The last scene was Sirius looking at the Prophet with the Weasleys on the front page, and realizing that Scabbers was Pettigrew. There was sort of a 'snap', like the sound of a wand breaking, and that was the end of the part with Sirius."

Seeing a good place to stop, the potions master convinced Harry to eat, and filled him in a bit on a few things.

"Last night your aunt, Lupin and myself also had dreams. From your description of the dream regarding Black, one could deduce that our dreams were similar to yours, but from a more _personal _perspective." He paused and looked at the other two for confirmation. Both Petunia and Lupin nodded.

"Harry, did you have dreams with anyone other than us and Sirius?" Lupin asked.

"Only Uncle Vernon. I saw some things twice because of it."

"While I understand that you need to talk about this," Snape continued "I would appreciate **my** side of things being kept just between us. I will admit that the emotions that the dreams provoked in me are strong and I would rather the details not be made public - regardless of that 'public' being in a similar situation. I can only assume that the others feel the same."

"I understand, Sir." Harry began. "And about..I didn't.."  
"Please stop, Mr. Potter." Snape said, and held up a hand as if to physically stop him. "We can rehash whatever you wish in private."

"I understand Sir, thank you. When will we be able to speak?"

"I do not know. I must leave soon. I often take breakfast in my quarters during the summer, but I rarely miss lunch in the Great Hall - and certainly not without informing The Headmaster ahead of time."

"When are you going to leave, Sir."

"The more important question," interrupted Lupin, "is 'how' are you going to leave. I informed Skye Middleton - that I was here to spend your birthday with you, Harry, but no one knows that Snape is here."  
"Who is Skye..."

"Skye Middleton, she is an auror trainee and new member of the Order. She relieved me at ten from guard duty."

"Oh, how did you get here undetected then Professor?"  
"I was on duty before Lupin, It was I that responded to your aunt's request for assistance."

Harry looked confused, so the adults briefly explained what had happened the night before from their perspectives - and then returned to the subject at hand.

"Back to Snape's problem, and mine also when I try to return." Remus elaborated. "There is an apparation ward on the house. we are supposed to apparate to and from Mrs. Figgs back yard. The problem is that guards are supposed to sweep there area - and you never know when you will bump into someone. No one is supposed to enter the Dursley property - Dumbledore said it was in deference to them because they don't like magic. The only safe area for us would be this property, but as I said, it is warded.. blocked from apparation" He explained to Petunia

"Is the garage also blocked?" Petunia asked. "Or the shed in the back?"

"I will go check." Replied Snape, and swept out of the room.

"Will this Skye person tell Dumbledore that you are here?" Harry asked Remus.

"I don't think so, we all just patrol but never really talk about it except to the next in line, and we only know who is just before and just after us. Its never been brought up at a meeting and I know I never said anything to The Headmaster about what I have seen."

"You've been here before?" Harry asked, the hurt apparent in his voice.

"I.. I'm sorry Harry."

Just then Snape came back into the room. "This is not the time for that discussion. More importantly. the garage is attached to the house and is warded, the shed out back is not." He then directected his comments to Petunia. "Mrs. Dursley, I hope I did not overstep any boundaries, but I cleared a safe spot for us to 'pop' into."

"Oh, that's OK." Petunia answered

"You understand," Snape continued, "that it must be kept clear, as not to endanger us?"

"No problem Sir, that would be my job, I'll keep the area clear." Harry told them.

"That seems like a good solution." Noted Remus. "We can disillusion ourselves and then be able to come and go freely."

"Before you leave though, Snape," Petunia cut in, "how are we going to keep Harry safe from Dumbledore? He can not return to that school as things stand, I won't allow it!"

"Do you think he knows?" Asked Harry fearfully. "I mean, I had dreams with you all in it, and you seemed to have the same dreams. So maybe he did to."

"But perhaps not, Potter. We must strategise and not tip our hand. I will try to find out today, at lunch, if The Headmaster had any odd revelations last night."

"Maybe you shouldn't Sir, we don't want him thinking anything is amiss."

Snape just scoffed at the boy's remark.

"I will gather as many books as I can and inform The Headmaster that I am going home for the summer to research a paper that I am writing. It is not wholly unusual for me to do so. This also will give me the opportunity to frequently return to Hogwarts and raid the library for resources without suspicion".

"That's good," Remus piped in, "and I can raid the library at... headquarters. I pretty much live there. What kinds of books should i be looking for?"

"Hell if I know, Wolf. Before I leave could you please scan him?"

After a few quick scans, Remus declared the damage to Harry's muscles and bones healed.

"Very good. Here are some pain potions if you need them, and some calming draughts - no more than one of each in 4 hours."

"Yes Sir, thank you Sir. And good luck Sir" Harry said, looking directly into his professor's eyes - trying to show his sincerity.

"Felicitations on your birthday, Potter." Snape said. With a nod to the others and a swirl of his robes, Snape left the room - and Privet Drive.

* * *

** obligatory line in all HP fanfics!!

*_*

* * *


	10. Y xx Sifting

_With a nod to the others and a swirl of his robes, Snape left the room - and Privet Drive._

* * *

"Harry, I expect you to eat that food." Petunia informed him. "I am going to start on dinner. This way you two can talk. Mr. Lupin, would you like something for lunch?"

"Thanks for the offer." Remus replied. "How about this, when I am done talking to Harry I will come down for a sandwich or something."  
Petunia agreed and left the two wizards to talk.

"Harry, would it be easier if I told you about what I dreamed, or if you told me about what you saw? Either way we can compare and I will answer any questions that you have about it."

"Maybe you should tell me. I am a bit strung out from this whole experience to be quite honest."

"I don't blame you. Aside from the physical changes you seemed to have gone through, I can only imagine how confused you are." Lupin paused for a moment and met Harry's eyes. "Whatever this is, we will figure it out. And I promise to put your safety above all else. From your aunt's comments earlier I will assume that she agrees."

"Thanks, I think I needed to hear that." Harry said, and reached for Remus' hand to give it a squeeze. "So tell me about the dream you had."

"OK, well it started with Dumbledore telling me about your parents' deaths and Sirius being taken to Azkaban."

"Was it a real memory?" Harry cut in to ask.

"Yes, it was the afternoon of November 1st, probably about 12 hours after your parents were killed. Everything that I saw in the dream really happened, they were actual memories." Harry nodded when he heard this, and Remus continued. "Basically, The Headmaster told me that he understood how upset I must be and that it would be understandable if I felt the need to leave for a while. Then I saw what must have been hundreds of moments in my life from before we met. Each of them was a moment that I wanted to visit or write you, but decided not to. And then the last few years, when I could have been closer to you, but kept my distance - both physically and emotionally."

Remus looked at Harry. The boy looked so young. His eyes were squeezed shut and fists clenched. "Did you dream the same?" There werewolf asked. Harry just nodded his head. This time Remus reached for Harry's hand. "I am so sorry, Harry. When I first heard about what had happened at Godric's Hollow all I could think about was getting to you. I was hoping to help raise you - and then.. I don't know."

"Dumbledore." Harry stated simply.

"It appears to be that way, doesn't it?"

Harry's eyes opened and he looked at Remus. "It still hurts though, that you never visited or wrote."

"I..."

"I know. I don't think it was really your fault." Harry said, cutting him off. Silence fell between them as they both tried to collect their thoughts. Remus pushed the tray of food towards Harry and Harry began to eat.

"Do you think Snape will be able to find anything out from The Headmaster?" Harry asked between bites.

"Well, he is very good at what he does. If anyone can, he can." Replied Lupin.

"Its just that, if The Headmaster did have dreams last night then he probably dreamed like I did - and he would know as soon as he was asked that Snape also had a dream. And he would lie about it to Snape if he did."

"What you are saying makes sense, but Severus is far to Slytherin to be trust Albus outright. He also is a _successful_ spy, and knows when to save his own skin instead if trying to push for information. We'll just have to wait and see what he comes up with."

Harry pushed the tray away, after having eaten a good portion of it. "What do we do in the meanwhile?"

"You, Harry," Remus stated in a firm, parental voice, "Get better and go about your summer as you have. Changing your patterns now will make your watchers curious and they may bring it up to Dumbledore. We can't have that. Other than that, you let Snape and I try to figure out what is going on, and how best to protect you."

"Hmph, protect me. That is not something I can see Snape helping with. I mean, he answers to both Voldemort and Dumbledore. And you have that monthly problem. Can you really protect me? From Voldemort, or Dumbledore, or the prophecy?"

"I understand why you are cynical, but you are going to have to trust me - us - a little. We have a month to research and plan. I really think that after last night that Snape, your aunt and I are committed to keeping you safe. Let us try, OK?"

Harry shrugged. "Its not like I can do much about it. Maybe the safest thing will be to return to Hogwarts... that whole 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' thing."

Remus smiled at the boy. "I think that is the right attitude. And in the meanwhile, we research."

"You sound like Hermione." Harry quipped.

Remus' smile grew at the comment. "It is still the best thing to do. Once you know what this is then we will know how to proceed better." Harry agreed. "Are you feeling well enough that I can leave you for a bit? I want to jump over to Headquarters and bring some books back. There are many obscure books on dark curses there, and I have the feeling whatever this is that we are dealing with is very much obscure."

"And dark?"

Lupin shrugged, "Maybe."

"Could this all be from Voldemort, and not Dumbledore?" Harry asked. "Like maybe something leftover from the night he killed my parents?"

Remus thought about that. "Anything is possible. We will only know for sure if we can figure out what happened last night."

"So you better go ahead, Remus, and start that research. I am fine, just little restless and achy. I think I'll try to nap a bit."

"Great. I will be back before you know it. I'll tell your aunt I am leaving and that you are resting up a bit."

"Thanks. For everything, really." Harry said sincerely.

Remus patted him on the shoulder and left.

* * *

Harry had dozed for a bit. When he woke he felt much better, and extremely bored. He managed to get himself out of bed and downstairs on his slightly wobbly/achy legs. He went to join his aunt, who was puttering around the kitchen.

"Its good to see you out of bed." Petunia said as she helped Harry into a chair.

"Thanks, I am still a bit off, but I am feeling much better."

"Good. Would you like something to eat or drink?"

Harry smiled. Aunt Petunia always felt best when she was taking care of her family. He never thought he would see the day that he was included in that, but he was glad for it.

"Some juice would be great, thank you." While his aunt was getting him juice (and some biscuits and some fruit) Harry continued. "After talking with Remus, I think that the dreams that I had are really memories, and that each each of you have had the dreams that concerned you."  
Petunia sat across from her nephew and focused on her hands, which were folded in her lap. "I think that may be right. I know that the dreams that I had last night, before I found your door locked, were all memories. I am so ashamed..."

"Please stop. I think you were cursed or coerced by Dumbledore. I think that is what this is all about. I have seen this summer how you would have treated me otherwise, and I don't think you should blame yourself."

Petunia's eyes shot up to meet those of Harry. "How can you say that." She said fiercely. "Ten years, Harry. Ten years that you lived in a cupboard. Ten years of neglect. Treating you the way I did... allowing Dudley to treat you as he did. That can't be written off because of a month of.. kindness. No, not even kindness really - just lack of abuse. You can not just pretend it never happened."

"I'M NOT." Harry shouted, and then took a deep breath to regain his control. "I'm not pretending it didn't happen. I am just trying to put the blame where it really belongs. _I_ still have to live with the consequences. It was _me_ that was in the cupboard, _me_ that was never allowed to participate in Christmas with the family, _me_ that was made to cook and clean at the age of five. But the blame is not yours and Uncle Vernon's - it is Dumbledore's, and I am going to try not to take it out on you."

Petunia shook her head. "You don't really know me, Harry. I really am petty and jealous and selfish - so much so that it was very natural for me to treat you as I did. I think that is what horrifies me most about this. Not that I was cursed to do something terrible to you, but that I did not mind. Even looking back on it I still resent how you were left on our doorstep like the newspaper."

Harry was stung at his aunt's revelation. "The cupboard, the hand-me-downs, the chores... Do you really believe that you would have done all that?"

"Yes.. maybe.. I don't know. But I don't think I ever would have been able to treat you the same as I treated Dudley. Not with how I felt about Lily and magic."

"Not being equal is one thing, what happened here way beyond that. We will never know how it could have been, will we Aunt Petunia?" Harry sat quietly, turning his glass in his hands.

After a moment of silence, Petunia reached into her apron pocket and pulled out an envelope. Harry recognized the yellow/brown hue as parchment and not 'regular' paper. "This was the letter that came with you. It was tucked in with your blanket. I did not remember saving it until that dream last night. I was able to find it this morning. Maybe it will help you figure out this curse, or whatever it is." Petunia placed the envelope on the table, stood, and went back to her meal preparations.

Harry sat there for a long moment, staring at Dumbledore's elegant script, before his aunt broke the silence.

"Are you feeling well enough to work? Were you going to cancel tomorrow's jobs?" She inquired.

"I think I will be OK. I am just a bit achy now, I should be fine tomorrow. I have the Jensons in the morning and the Tinworths after lunch. Both are just garden maintenance. It should only be about an hour or so each. I should be fine."

"If you are sure."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. The real problem is that my work clothes were left out last night. They were destroyed, weren't they?"

"They must have been. I'm sure I can did something suitably grungy for you to use." She said with a smirk, and placed a plate of sanwiches in front of Harry.

"I bet you can." Harry answered good naturedly, and took up a sandwich to eat.

It was then that his aunt remembered to give him his birthday gifts. He sat at the kitchen table for a short while, eating sandwiches and opening his gifts, while his aunt finished preparing dinner.

* * *

After his snack and talk with his aunt, Harry returned to his bedroom gifts in tow. It had been a bit uncomfortable for him when his aunt realized that all of his gifts included food. He kept trying to convince himself that the things that bothered him were Dumbledore's fault, or in the past, and that he should get over it - but it still hurt. Putting it out of his head, he relaxed in bed and geared himself up to read the letter that The Headmaster left his relatives.

_Mr. and Mrs Vernon Dursley  
Number 4 Privet Drive  
Little Whinging, Surrey_

_Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,_

_I am writing to inform you about the death of James and Lily Potter. It may comfort you to know that they were killed in a fight for all that is good and light - a fight to the death against an evil wizard. They fought protecting them and theirs. The child, Harry James Potter, miraculously survived. His incredibly strong magic vanquished the murderer of his parents. The child now has no living relatives, save yourselves, to take care of him - and thus, I am placing him in your custody._

_Mrs. Dursley, I remember well the letter you wrote to me years ago, requesting a place in the wizarding school Hogwarts. While at the time there was no place for you in the school, nor in the whole of the wizarding world itself. Now there is, as the keeper of this boy, Harry. I hope that in the years since our last correspondence you were able to overcome the intense jealousy that you held for your sister, her magic, and the life she lead._

_Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, I state here in this letter that you need not fear magic, or magic users (of which Harry is surely a strong one). I have set up protections so that no magic or magic users can interfere in your lives. This is both as a safeguard to yourselves and the child. A safeguard you will surely need._

_I understand that the abruptness of this letter, and the 'package' I am leaving with you, may cause some anger on your parts - I beg you not to take it out on the boy. My reasoning in leaving him with you and your family is so that he may grow up as a normal child, away from the fame that his survival is sure to have caused._

_My condolences and thanks,_

_Albus P.W.B. Dumbledore  
Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Wizardry_

'What an odd letter,' Harry thought. The Headmaster had left the Dursleys with no choice, no way to contact him and no information about raising a magical child. Why on earth mention Harry's strong magic (twice!) and Petunia's jealousy? He really did not sound sorry at all that James and Lily were killed. It was a very odd letter indeed. While Harry was contemplating the letter, he dozed off.

Harry woke abruptly when he heard a scritching noise next to him. When his eyes flew open he noticed his startled aunt.

"Sorry Harry, I didn't mean to wake you." She said apologetically.

"Its fine. What's this?" He asked pointing to the spiral notebooks that she had just placed on his night table.

"I found some extra notebooks. I thought you could use them to write out the details of the dreams. Or they can be used for the research that your professors keep talking about."

"That is a great idea. I could really use it to organize my thoughts and questions. Thanks."

Harry took the notebooks over to his desk. He noticed that they were three-subject notebooks. He opened all three of them to their front sections. On the first one he placed a large question mark at the top of the page and began listing some questions he had - in a sort of strange shorthand:

-letter to P/V  
- why mention jealousy  
- why mention my magic [trying to scare them?]  
- why letter instead of talking to them

-night of july31  
- why did i grow  
- dreams/memories how related

In the second notebook he began to write about the dreams. In deference to Snape he kept the details out, at least until he could secure the notebooks. He did write about what may tie the dreams together, like Dumbledore and Harry being avoided/abused/mistreated by the other party in the dreams. He then flipped to the second section of the dream notebook and began to write bits of the dreams that he had had earlier in the summer. He did not know if they were important but he wrote whatever he could remember.

After exhausting his memory about his earlier dreams, he retrieved the first notebook and opened it to the second section. There he began writing about The Headmaster. First he wrote about how he had felt about the man in the past (as a 1st year he was awed and honoured that the man spoke to him and seemed to care, as a second year he felt as if the man were a parental figure. Last year he was hurt that The Headmaster seemed to be ignoring him) then he wrote a very long and detailed list of the events at school that, in retrospect, should have raised flags with him as far as The Headmaster was concerned, and things which still make him wonder what Dumbledore's true motivations towards him are. Some of the items in the list included questioning why Hagrid, who is very anti-Slytherin and has little magic, was the one to take him to Diagon Alley. Why did he not get a muggle introduction to Hogwarts having been muggle raised? Was The Headmaster keeping Harry's Gringott's key to keep him dependent? In Harry's first year, Dumbledore had to know what each of the professors was contributing to the protection of the stone, why was Quirrel not called to task about having 'fainted' when his troll 'got loose' in the school? On and on the list went, highlighting questions and suspicions against The Headmaster.

Harry continued with his long and frustrating list until he heard a light knock on his door. Professor Snape had returned to Privet Drive.


	11. K xx Laying Foundations

[many thanks for all the reviews/C2s/alerts/favorites - keep feeding the author!]

_Harry continued with his long and frustrating list until he heard a light knock on his door. Professor Snape had returned to Privet Drive._

* * *

Harry looked up from his notebooks when he heard the knock. He saw Snape standing in the doorway with a plate of sandwiches. Harry stood.

"Come in, Sir." He said.

Snape gestured to the plate he was holding, "Your aunt believes that you should be eating more." Harry snorted and rolled his eyes. "She is right, you know." Snape said in his teaching voice, "You expended an incredible amount of energy last night."

Harry looked at the sandwiches critically. "I suppose the protein in the tuna would also help my healing muscles... thanks for bringing them up." Harry took the plate and placed it on his small night table. He then grabbed the chair he had recently vacated and put it closer to the bed and night table. "Have a seat, Sir." Harry left the chair vacant for Snape and sat on his bed.

The potions master eyed the remaining vials lined up on the night table. "I see you have not been taking the potions, are you feeling that well after your ordeal?"

Harry smiled in a self-depreciating way."I don't like taking medications. I am not really in pain anyway, just stiff. I was planning on taking a pain potion before bed, and then one if I need before work in the morning. I appreciate you leaving them here for me, Sir. Thank you."

Snape waved off Harry's thanks. "Take them as needed, I can always supply more. And just for reference, the calming draughts will work on muggles, should they find their sleep disturbed tonight."

"That's good to know. I'll be sure to let them know."

With the small talk out of the way, the atmosphere, and the silence, in the small room grew oppressive.

"Sir, I need to apologize to you.."

"Mr. Potter, my behaviour towards you..."

Both began to speak at once, and both stopped at the same time.

"Really Sir, I should apologize for invading your privacy as I did. Regardless of how we feel -felt," Harry gave his head a quick shake, as if trying to fling off some of the confusion that laid upon it, "about each other - it was wrong of me." Harry tried to convey his sincerity to his teacher. "I thought maybe I would find out what everyone was hiding from me, but it was still not right. And I know you think I blabbed about what I saw, but I didn't Sir."

"I know that." Responded Snape.

Harry took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he had to do next. "I think Sir, that I need to learn occlumency, and I respectfully ask for you to teach me."

Oh, Snape was not expecting that. "Have you been having visions, or dreams from The Dark Lord?" Snape asked, his voice full of concern.

"No, I know now how to keep Vold- sorry, Tom out of my head. I just have to think about how I feel about my friends. That was how I drove him out when he was possessing me. But I am worried about what will happen when -_if_- I return to Hogwarts. I want to keep others out of my head."

The older wizard thought about what had been said. He knew that the boy had been possessed that night at the Ministry of Magic, but Dumbledore had said that he had driven The Dark Lord out of Potter. It was amazing not only that the boy had done it himself but that he was cognizant of _how_ he had done it. Severus was impressed (though he would never admit to it).

"I understand your desire to protect your mind, but you have only a month to learn. I realize that both different teaching and learning methods would be appropriate and helpful," both occupants of the small room smirked at each other, "but it may not be enough. What you may not realize is that you need to learn a much higher level of occlumency. When protecting your mind from The Dark Lord, it was acceptable to simply clear, or block your thoughts. In this case you will need to hide certain thoughts and memories - while letting others rise to the surface. There may be a need to create false memories. This is much more difficult."

"I need to try, Sir. Otherwise I don't know if I can safely return to school." Harry said, fear creeping into his voice.

Snape nodded. "Certainly not tonight. You are in no condition after last nights ordeal to deal with this now. I will find a book to help you, and we can work on it when I am able to come around. I have allowed you to apologize, and I have accepted said apology. Now I believe it is my turn to make amends to you for my behaviour over the last years.

"I wrongly treated you as an extension of your father, whom might I add - you don't even remember. It was wrong of me to lay the sins of the father upon the son, so to speak. And as you have explained why you did what you did, I would also like to explain." Snape then launched into a tale-

"This is the tale of a poor boy, the progeny of a weak-willed witch and an alcoholic muggle. He was a socially-ill-adjusted boy, not only for having grown up in this odd family, but for having been home-schooled and therefore rarely around children. He was also quite precocious which did not help him fit in when other children where around. He would tell his mother that he was playing with other children in the park, when in reality he read books - both ignoring and being ignored by the other children. His mother was so happy to hear of his friends that he allowed himself this lie to her."

As Snape spoke, he was focused on some far off point. Harry watched him as he spoke and was quickly sucked into the story. The cadence and timbre of Snape's voice, and the man's flowing vocabulary made him an incredible story-teller. Harry thought briefly of the introduction lecture in potions his first year.

"The story continues as this misfit boy spots a girl in the neighborhood preforming magic. After witnessing this a few times as the girl played with her younger sister, he approached her and told her she was a witch. The girl, who was incredibly kindhearted (and able to overlook the boys appearance and rough manners) soon became friends with the boy - having this bond between them. They often spoke of magic and Hogwarts and he was able to teach her what he had learned from his mother. The girl's sister, who was less kindhearted but unwilling to let go completely of her older sister, also learned of magic and Hogwarts, but ended up being pure muggle and did not join them at Hogwarts.

"At Hogwarts the boy went to his mother's house, Slytherin, and the girl to Gryffindor. They remained fast friends. But in Slytherin the boy found acceptance because of his brilliance. Unfortunately the people who offered him this acceptance were quite intolerant of his Muggle-born friend. It was late in their sixth year that things came to a head, and the girl was driven away. Regardless of how often the boy pleaded for forgiveness, their friendship was never healed.

"After graduation, this boy - now a young man - decided, with his friends, to join a group supporting a particularly charismatic rising-star in the wizarding world. He tried to stay in touch with the kindhearted girl. It was difficult, but infrequent and unsubstantial letters were sent. When the girl had a child a small token was sent, but it was returned by the child's father. In the meanwhile, our protagonist would hear a prophecy regarding this rising-star and report part of it to him. Unbeknownst to him, this prophecy would damn the girl who was once his friend, and her husband, to death."

Snape's eyes suddenly snapped to meet Harry's.

"It wasn't until today that I remembered - when I first heard about your parents' deaths my first reaction was that the child had survived. Thrilled as I was to be rid of him - I cared nothing for the death of The Dark Lord, and I was wrought with grief at my best friends murder. And yet, all I could think of was that something of Lily had survived. I rushed to Dumbledore to ask after you. Black had already gone after Pettigrew (though at the time it was assumed it was the other way around), and Lupin was not a viable option as a guardian. I volunteered to take you in. It all went so horribly wrong after that, I suppose. I remember vowing to Albus to protect you, Lily's son, at any cost. At least that I have done."

By the time Snape was done talking Harry's mind was whirling _Snape was friends with Mum - Snape knew Aunt Petunia - Snape told Voldemort the prophecy - Snape sent me a baby gift - Snape wanted to be my guardian...._ Harry's breathing became irratic and his hands began to shake. Without taking his eyes off the boy, Snape reached over to the night table and snagged a vial of calming draught. He opened it and offered it to the mess of a boy sitting before him.

"Take a sip." Snape said, calmly.

Harry's eyes flashed towards the vial, and then continued downward. His head fell and his hands came up to grip at his hair. He was shaking and tears were falling from his eyes. Snape lowered himself off the chair and onto the ground, so he could get to the boy at a better angle. He prised one of the boy's hands from his head and put the vial into the hand. With his free hand he tilted Harry's chin, so the boys eyes met his own.

'Take it." He commanded, and apparently the boy heard this time and took a sip. Harry was able to return the half full vial to Snape's hand before his head dropped again, this time resting it on Snape's shoulder.

Once Harry was calm enough, he moved his head from his professor's shoulder. "Sorry." He mumbled, not meeting his professor's eyes.

Snape sat back in the chair and placed the half empty vial on the night table.

"I have been trying to get my thoughts together," Harry tried to explain. "That's what I was doing when you came by." He gestured towards the desk where he had been sitting. Snape reached over and grabbed the notebooks, he handed them to Harry. Harry took a fortifying breath.

"See, here are questions that I have about.. things. And in this section I have all these thoughts about The Headmaster." Harry showed Snape the books and explained each section. "I did not put the details of what I dreamed last night, because I can't secure the books and you asked that things stay private."

"Well, then Lupin did have a truly good idea." Said Snape, and pulled out a brown leather book from his robes. "I was able to acquire this today. Consider it a birthday gift from Lupin and myself." Snape flipped the book open and showed Harry a pocket for extra papers and two tabbed sections. He slid a paper out from the cover. "Here are the instructions. You will need a wand to engage the spells, but since the magic is in the book itself, it will not trigger the detectors at The Ministry."

Harry finally picked up his head and smiled. "Thank you Sir. You think of everything."

"As I said, it was Lupin's idea. I just happened to be passing through Hogsmeade today and was able to pick it up. Shall I leave you to it then?"

Harry sat there, staring at the book and gently rubbing the soft leather cover. He has so many thoughts buzzing around his head. He knew that writing it out would help, but he did not want to be left alone just yet - so he shook his head.

The two wizards sat in silence for some minutes. Harry would occasionally open his mouth, as if to ask a question, but then close it again. There were so many questions he could ask, but he didn't know what to ask first. It end up that the question that finally came out of his mouth surprised both him and his guest.

"Were you able to find out if The Headmaster shared any of our dreams last night?"

"I was able to find out that he slept undisturbed, and seemed his normal chipper self this morning."

"Oh, um, how'd you find that out?" Harry asked, genuinely curious.

"Your head of house is a bit of a gossip. That and she loved to turn the staff members little habits into a scientific experiment. So she knows that when I sleep poorly (which is more often than not) I drink coffee instead of tea. Flitwick will drink twice as much tea, and add more sugar when he sleeps badly - while Hooch, who only ever drinks coffee, will have no meat at the meal unless she is well rested."

"And Dumbledore?" Harry prompted.

"He acts just a little _too_ chipper, even for himself. And he will only consume things loaded with sugar - jam on toast, porridge with sugar and so on. When he sleeps well he will have only one cup of tea at the meal and eat a full English breakfast."

"What about Professor McGonagal? What does she eat when she hasn't slept well?"

"Porridge with lots of cream, and tea with cream." Confided Snape. "And when you don't sleep well you stick to toast."

Harry was amazed. He never realized just how much you could learn by merely observing.

After a bit more lighthearted conversation, Snape carefully directed the discussion back on course, and raised the subject of the dreams they had the night before.

"The reason that I told you that story was not to garner you sympathy, it was so you could understand better the things that you may have learned from the dreams you had last night - at least the ones regarding me. If you dreamed the same as I then you saw a conversation that I had with The Headmaster. It was the day after you had been placed here. Our conversation was basically him convincing me to help protect you once you came to Hogwarts and to spy if/when The Dark Lord returned. This was agreed upon. The rest of the dream seemed to be every cruel word I ever spoke to you and every unkind action I performed upon you. The perspective of the dream was neither mine nor yours. Six years of harassing you in class, belittling you, taking points and giving detentions."

"Yeah, that was the gist of it. Though I don't think it was _every_ nasty thing you ever said to me," Harry replied cheekily - trying to lighten the mood a bit. "Um, you had said before that you asked to be my guardian, what happened with that?"

"Simply The Headmaster convinced me that you should be raised by your aunt, in a family. I had been apprehensive about that, knowing as I did that she was very prejudiced against magic. But, he was persuasive, and I was quite physically and mentally exhausted. I was worn out from two years of spying, culminating in both the end of a megalomaniac master and the loss of a friend. I remember taking a dreamless sleep potion that night and falling into oblivion. The conversation in the dream happened the next afternoon."

"You know, when I first woke up I had thought that maybe Vold- _Tom_ had gotten into my head again, I thought he had pulled out all of my worst memories and insecurities - and put together this awful idea that it was The Headmaster that was the cause of all of this misery. But everyone has said that the dreams were real events that happened, so it wasn't Tom. That means it was Dumbledore. I have a hard time reconciling the candy-obsessed man with the man who did this to me - to all of us."

"I suppose everyone has a hidden side. He is so old that relative to his life, no one really has known him for a long time - no one knows what he has hidden."

"I started writing a list of all the manipulative things he has done to me - its a pretty long list." Harry admitted with a half smile. "I want to know what he did that caused those weird dreams we had, and my growing so much - but really, more than anything, I want to know why. What is so important to have these plans that span years concerning me?"

Snape smirked at the boy and said sarcastically, "Don't you realize? Nothing is more important than you. You are the-boy-that-lived!"

* * *

After a few more minutes of talking, Dudley came in to call him down for dinner. Harry returned the chair to his desk and grabbed the letter that his aunt had given him. He figured he would return it to her now that he had read it.

Remus had returned to Privet Drive while Harry was talking to Snape. Dinner was an odd affair, with wizards equaling muggles in number at the table. It was kind of his aunt to include the older wizards, but there was little common ground to be found between them all. Since no one really wanted to talk about Harry's ordeal at the table - or Snape's and Petunia's past - there was little conversation to be had beyond small talk and Harry thanking Lupin for the journal.

After the meal was cleared from the table both Snape and Lupin brought out the books they had brought with them to research. Harry agreed to help look through the books, and wished out loud that Hermione had been there to help. There was little hope of finding anything related to what had happened to Harry, because there was so little information they had to base the research on. Everyone agreed to look through the books, and bring up anything that looked promising.

Harry remembered to return the letter to his aunt while they were looking through the old tomes, having forgotten about it during the meal. Petunia let the other wizards read the letter, and they agreed with Harry's assessment that the language of the letter was odd. Harry also mentioned that he felt the same way about the way Dumbledore phrased things in the dreams he had - it seemed forced somehow. Harry explained it by describing a game they had once played in school - a child picked a phrase out of a hat and had to use the phrase in a conversation, others had to guess what the phrase was that he picked. It always made for an odd conversation.

While looking at the letter, Remus noticed three letters scattered on the back of the paper. They appeared to be K-O-M, but the letters were not written in Dumbledore's normal flowing script. Snape and Lupin examined the style of the letters and both believed that they were runes of some sort, but not the normal ones taught at Hogwarts . This, they all believed, was the first real hint at what they were dealing with. Both wizards agreed to look through the items (letters and gifts) that they had received from The Headmaster to see if there were any unusual markings on them.

"Did you both take runes in school?" Harry asked. Both older wizards nodded, still engrossed in trying to decipher the small clue that they had.

"What are runes?" Asked Dudley.

Lupin began (in full lecture mode),"Runes are generally defined as the character set used to write Germanic languages prior to the adoption of the Latin alphabet - basically from the 3rd century to the Middle Ages. Wizards however define runes as any character set that carries a magical weight. In the orient where each character is a word, some of those characters, carved on to a surface will - for instance - help protect the surface from weather. If we can figure out which character set this is then we will be one step closer to identifying the curse that was used."

This was the fist time that anyone had actually vocalized that they were looking for a curse, instead of 'the ordeal' or 'the dreams'. Though he had come to that conclusion himself, Harry was just a little more depressed having heard it stated out loud.

"So, its like an alphabet, but an old one." Hedged Dudley.

"Pretty much." Agreed Remus

"Though some some runic alphabets are still in use today," Stated Snape. "Like the Greek alphabet and Sanskrit."

Dudley seemed to think about something for a moment, but then got up and left the table. Harry figured he was just fed up with all this intellectual stuff and went to watch TV.

Harry was trying to look through the impossibly large and boring book in front of him, but he was too distracted by Snape and Lupin discussing the runes.

"We can assume its not Magyar runes based on the 'O' being rounded as it is." Said Snape.

"Hmm, and if it was Elbasan the other letters would be rounded instead of angled." Put in Lupin.

"Perhaps Greek , or something based on it?"

"I don't know, the 'K' doesn't have a clean joint, it is clearly overlapped."

Harry was clearly lost in the conversation the two professors were having, and so he went back to his book. Soon Dudley returned to the table with stacks of recognizable yellow covered magazines. Harry smiled, his cousin had come up with a pretty clever idea.

"National Geographic magazines." He explained to the older wizards. "I picked out all of the ones with articles that mention ancient societies and cultures. Inca, Aztec Egyptian, anything with history or archeology. I thought maybe I could find something with those letters in it."

"It is quite unlikely." Remarked Snape.

"Well, its just as unlikely," Commented Harry, defending his cousin's idea, "That we will find the 'dream sharing/body growing/ on the 16th birthday' thing in any of these books."

And with that the muggles looked through the magazines and the wizards through the tomes until they all had decided they had enough and went their separate ways to bed. 


	12. L xx Dudley DoRight

Tuesday, August 1 ------------------

Shortly after dinner Snape and Lupin arrived - nearly at the same time. Each had spent the day going through the libraries available to then in search of some clue as to what had happened the day before. Though they did not find anything researching, neither of then came empty handed. Remus had brought with him a protection amulet that Dumbledore had given him just before he withdrew from the British wizrding world after the Potters were killed. Remus generally wore it as the full moon approached. On the back of the amulet were three carved runes - a hook, an 'F' and an 'M'. Severus brought with him the first Christmas gift that the Headmaster had given to him (also just after the Potters were killed). It was a crystal apple with a silver stem and leaves, that rested on a silver tray. Apparently Dumbledore liked the muggle adage 'an apple for a teacher'. On the underside of the tray were three runes - a hook, a 'K' and a '4'.

"Is there some significance to each of the items having three runes?" Asked Harry.

"Three is a strongly magical number." Remus explained. "It is also the most stable number. A tripod or a three legged stool will never wobble, unlike its four legged counterparts. The number three has always been a number with strong religious and spiritual significance. There will always be three runes in the foundation of a runic structure. Three runes can be used to stabilize or strengthen other magics - I assume that is its purpose in this case."

While Lupin was lecturing Harry on the basics of the subject of Runes, Snape was copying all of the symbols they had found on to a parchment. First he folded the parchment in half lengthwise, then into thirds. In each square he carefully copied one of the symbols. This way he was able to isolate each symbol easily.

When Lupin had finished speaking, Harry saw what his Professor had done and asked about it.

"I have made this to be able to isolate each known symbol. When searching through runic alphabets we may not identify the symbol correctly because the base of the the symbol is not as we are assuming it is. The easiest example to explain would be the "M" - when held one way it looks like an "M", turn it and it becomes a "W", turn it differently and it is a stylized "E". By isolating each symbol, and rotating it, we are more likely to figure out what set of runes the symbols belonged to."

Harry absorbed all that his professors were telling him. He found the subject fascinating, though maybe only because it was so important at the moment.

Snape made two more copies of the parchment and gave one to Lupin and left one with Harry for research.

During a lull in the conversation, Dudley walked into the room. "Harry, I'm heading to the mall - do you need anything?"

"No, thanks Dudley. Oh, by the way, we found more symbols - assuming they are all related. Maybe it will help you when you look through those magazines." Harry showed Dudley the paper that Snape had made.

"It would be so much easier if Hermione could help." Harry groused. "She is amazing at research."

"I don't think that it would be a good idea to contact her, Harry." Stated Lupin. "I doubt that the post, even with Hedwig, is secure."  
"I could phone her." Explained Harry, "But it wouldn't matter. She doesn't have access to the school library so I doubt that she could do anything more than worry."

"I gotta run," said Dudley. "Can I take one of these?" referring to the papers that Snape had made. After receiving an affirmative answer, he pocketed the page and left for the night.

After Dudley's departure, Snape returned to the conversation about the runes. "It looks like the letters are in a triangular pattern in relation to each other. It is easier to tell this on the amulet and tray than the letter. But even so, we don't know what kind of triangle. Are all the symbols written with their base at the bottom, or are they written with their base turned towards the center of the triangle? The former would be for stabilization and strengthening while the latter would be stabilization and radiation - or extension. Although some runic languages can only be written with their bases at the bottom."

"This is really a fascinating subject, I am sorry now that I did not take Runes in school instead of Divination. You know, Sir," he said to Snape, "You teach pretty well when you want to ..." Harry let the sentence drift off, embarrassed at the insult he implied.

Snape just gave a dry laugh at the boy's comment. "Maybe my teaching skills are directly proportional to the desire to learn on the student's part..." The professor let his implied insult sink in for a moment before he continued, "Which may mean that this is a good time to give you this." Snape handed Harry a slim book - _Mind Games - A Beginner's Guide to Occlumency._

"It would be foolish of me to come here every day, for it increases the risk of detection. I will attempt to come twice a week, and during those visits we will review what you have read and practice together."

Harry accepted the book and graciously thanked the older wizard for it. He immediately began looking through it.

"I also don't think I should come everyday, Harry." Said Remus. "The more we come and go, the more likely it is it will be noticed, or mentioned to the Headmaster. Severus has free access to Headquarters, so he and I will still be able to research and pass information between ourselves."

"What am I supposed to do in the meanwhile?" Said Harry, the disappointment bleeding into his voice.

"Just carry on as you have been, Potter." Ordered Snape. "Don't give the watchers any reason to comment to Dumbledore. As we mentioned, the owl post is insecure, and this abode is not connected to the floo network. Neither of us have muggle phones - so there is really no safe way to communicate with you."

Harry sat sullenly for a few moments. "Hold on." He suddenly said, and ran upstairs to his room. He returned after just a minute.

"I have two ideas about how we can keep in touch between visits. Tell me what you think." Harry showed his professors the broken mirror and his charmed galleon. "This is my DA galleon. Hermione charmed them for all of us in the group so we would know when the next meeting was planned. When one of us changes the date on ours, all of the other galleon's dates change, and they heat up. I never used the mirror," He admitted, a dark shadow crossing over his face, "So I don't know how it works."

Remus explained about the mirrors that Sirius and James had once used. "Only the two were made, Peter and I never had one. This is a good idea, since I can find Sirius' at Grimauld Place. It only allows communication though, it doesn't have an alarm - like the galleon - to let you know when someone is trying to contact you."

"Can we combine them somehow?" Harry asked.

"I would rather spend my time researching what happened yesterday than dealing with this." Snape snapped irritably. "Potter, someone will be here every second day. Surely you can keep yourself occupied and out of trouble for that long."

"I just don't like being left in the dark about things." The boy complained.

"I'll look into it a bit, Harry." Remus said, trying to calm the boy. He then tried, unsuccessfully, to fix the mirror. "Meanwhile, you use the biggest piece (careful not to cut yourself on the edges) and I will find the other mirror."

Placated, Harry returned to reading the occlumency book until it was time for the older wizards to leave.

* * *

Saturday August 5 -----------

Dudley burst into the house, slamming the door behind him.

"Harry! Harry I got it!." He yelled excitedly.

Harry ran down the stairs, wand in hand - wondering what all the noise was about.

"Dudley, what did you get? Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. Listen, I was just at the library," Dudley saw the incredulous look on his cousin's face at this and lightly punched his shoulder. "Oh, stuff it you - say a word and I wont tell you the news."

Harry smiled, "Go on then." He said.

"I told the librarian that I needed help identifying an ancient language. I told her my _annoying _cousin was using it to write letters in code and I wanted to crack the code. She helped me find all these books and I was able to find it in one. That page that your really-scary professor made was brilliant, since we were thinking of some of the symbols in the wrong direction. Here, I made a photocopy of it from the book."

Harry was staring dumbfounded at his cousin - and then smiled widely and hugged the shorter boy.

"Your brilliant, Duds. I never thought I would say it, but you-are-brilliant!"

Harry took the page and looked at it. After a moment he looked at Dudley and said, "Weird stuff, don't you think?"

Dudley chuckled. "Its Phoenician. The librarian told me that this is a right-to-left alphabet, so it starts at the top right, not the top left. This page shows the letter, its name, and the meaning of the name of the letter."**

"This is great Dudley. Its the first real clue that we have as to what is going on, and this will help us narrow down the research. The professors are both coming tonight, why don't you tell them what you found?" Harry asked, wanting his cousin to take the credit for this huge breakthrough.

"No thanks." Dudley said, backing away a bit from Harry. "I'm a bit frightened by those two, you know? Besides," Dudley said, putting on a haughty air and buffing his nails on his shoulder. "My work here is done." He turned and walked up the stairs, leaving his happily chuckling cousin behind.

* * *

**remove the spaces and use this URL to see the alphabet - http://www . phoenician . org / alphabet_phoenician . GIF  
remember, it is right-to-left, unlike English

and here is a site that also gives the history of the letters (but not in 'alphabetical' order!) http://phoenicia . org / tblalpha . html

For those that were wondering, the letters in the chapter names come from this alphabet - based on the sounds the Phoenician letters make.

Thanks for all the reviews/favorites/alerts/C2s!!


	13. M xx Support

Harry had given the good news to the older wizards just hours after Dudley had found the page on Phoenician Runes. Remus and Severus were thrilled to have some direction for their research. Knowing that the runes were in the Phoenician alphabet narrowed things down. Unfortunately, Phoenician runes were amongst the most ancient, and because of that there were very few references about them available. Even more seriously, because Phoenician runes were so different than the Latin alphabet, many of the books that might reference it were not in English - or even another Latin based language. It was almost as if knowing the rune set made the search more difficult instead of easier. Neither Snape nor Lupin was versed in ancient languages and they were fearful to make contact with foreign wizards regarding this. They were considering asking Bill Weasley for help in finding references or contacts on the pretext of Snape researching some ancient potion - though if they did this they would have to be very careful about the information not getting back to Dumbledore.

Snape and Lupin had explained to Harry a bit about ancient runes, languages and magic. Simply put, the older the language the stronger the magic. Whether casting spells or carving runes, the older the language the more powerful. Wizards from countries with Latin based languages used mostly Latin for spell-casting. Because of it, British wizards were considered weaker than their oriental and middle-eastern counterparts - some of which had spoken languages older than Latin, and who cast spells in even more ancient languages. You need not look further than the killing curse to prove this. The curse, uttered in Aramaic, gives nearly any strength wizard the ability to kill.

Harry's continued his working and exercising. At night he would read whatever books Snape had assigned for him in Occlumency and Potions - as they were both convinced that the Headmaster would force Snape to allow Harry into the advanced Potions class. Harry also spent a lot of time journaling. He kept track of his dreams and noted any significance they had. He also documented his personal history, and all of the places that Dumbledore seemed to 'guide' him into things.

In the evenings that Remus did not come by, Harry and Remus would talk a bit via the mirrors. If Snape was at Headquarters then Harry would hear his snarky, dry comments in the background. Both older wizards made very sure that Harry knew that cracking this mystery was up to them, and that he - Harry - as a child was to sit back and 'relax'. It was an odd thing for Harry to rely on the adults around him. The nightly talks with his professors began to give him confidence that they were not going to leave him ignorant of what was going on, nor were they going to abandon the search for answers until all avenues had been explored.

_

* * *

[Thursday, August 10]_

Upon returning home from work, Harry saw a message for him from Mrs. Figg. His aunt had assumed it was about doing some odd-job, but Harry became agitated over the message. He knew that she was more than just a neighbor, and was in contact with Headmaster Dumbledore. Though Harry tried, he was unable to reach Remus with the mirror before it was time for him to go to her home.

While he was walking to the Figg home, Harry pulled himself together. He used his occlumency to put himself in the mindset that he supposed the squib was expecting him to be in - namely, depressed over losing his godfather and grateful for the Headmaster contacting him. In the back of his mind he heard Snape's biting voice telling him how important it was not to reveal anything to the 'enemy', and he heard Lupin's calming voice telling him calm down and everything would be fine.

When he arrived, Mrs. Figg invited Harry in and offered him tea and biscuits. He politely refused, claiming that his aunt expected him back soon to prepare dinner. The old squib asked Harry how he was coping this summer, and Harry felt that it was not really her that was interested - but the Headmaster. He told her he was very sad about losing his godfather and that he felt guilty over it. He explained that he was working to try to escape the grief, and because his aunt and uncle asked him for rent this summer. Before Harry left she gave him a package from the Headmaster and he thanked her and took the package home, not wanting to open it in front of her.

It was some hours later when Harry was finally able to contact Remus about the package. He did not want to open it until it was checked over. Remus was not able to come by until nearly midnight - because of an Order meeting. He scanned the box for curses and such and found nothing wrong. Harry opened the package and looked at it's contents. There was a bar of chocolate - its wrapper was the 'Honeydukes Special Occasion - Happy Birthday' wrapper. Harry was not impressed at the gift or the thought (or lack thereof) behind it. He handed the chocolate to Remus, knowing the werewolf had a sweet tooth. There were also a number of letters. One with his OWL scores, which he did pretty well on - all things (like visions) considered. There was the standard pre-sixth year letter with the class request form and the book list. Finally, there was a letter from Dumbledore.

In the letter, the Headmaster explained that when Harry returned to school he would need to continue Occlumency lessons. He also said that he would do everything that he could to pressure Professor Snape to allow Harry into Potions. Neither of these were shocking to Harry, as he and Snape had already discussed that this was probably going to happen. The letter continued to say that Sirius' will needed to be read, but it was too dangerous for Harry to be there so it would have to be read without him - even though he was one of the inheritors. The letter closed by saying that he would be removed from his home (Harry thought that word was very inappropriate) on August 21st and would be able to visit Diagon Alley on the 30th to pick up his school supplies. Though there was no mention of where Harry would be staying after the 21st, Dumbledore did mention that he felt that Headquarters may be too depressing for Harry, and was looking into alternatives.

"Ugh, I can't believe this..He is such a jerk!" Harry said, clearly upset by the letter.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Remus asked.

"No, I am too tired now and I have a nasty day of hauling wood planks for a patio ahead of me." Harry's anger, and energy were deflating.

"Snape will be by tomorrow... um.. tonight," Remus reminded the boy. "If you need to vent, he is a perfect target."

Harry smiled at the older wizard's subtle humor.

"OK, I'll put my thoughts together and discuss them with the Professor. About the will, when does Dumbledore want it read? I want to be there and I think it should be sooner than later."

"Both Tonks and I have been pushing for it to be read since the summer began, but Dumbledore is tying things up." Remus explained.

"Does he have to be there for the reading?" Asked Harry.

"No, but he is claiming that he is your magical guardian, and that you _can't_ be there. The goblins want the three of us there for the reading. I think Sirius insisted on us being there and not proxies, he may have a message for one - or all - of us that he wants to make sure we get."

"That makes sense, and Dumbledore probably assumes the same thing and is trying to prevent it." Harry deduced.

Remus nodded at his perception, "The only people that must be there are you, Tonks and me."

"Can you find out when she has the next shift of watching me? Maybe the two of you can sneak me out and we can hear the will then." Harry suggested.

"I will try to find out, but we have to think carefully about that, we don't want her telling the Headmaster anything. The full moon is Sunday night, so if its Monday I still wont be up to going."

"It would have to be before the 21st though, once I am in his domain, there will be no sneaking out for me. What is going to happen after the 21st. That is so soon and it leaves us no time to research or plan."

"I'll talk to Tonks about the will and Snape about you leaving on the 21st. I am sure he will bring you a message about it later. Listen you get some sleep. How flexible is your work schedule as far as getting to Gringots goes?"

"I can always move things around if needed. Thanks for helping me deal with all of this, Remus. I really appreciate it."

"No problem Harry. That's what I am here for."

_

* * *

[Friday, August 11]_

Harry had all day to get his thoughts together about the Headmaster's letter, and to work himself up into a hysterical state over it. By the time Snape had arrived for their Occlumency lessons, Harry was nearly pulling out his hair in frustration and ready to explode. Severus Snape was barely inside the house when Harry's tirade began. It began with "Just who does that man think he is?" and Harry proceeded to rant about every decision that Dumbledore made for Harry in his life, starting with leaving him at the Dursley's (on the doorstep with a note.. what am I, a bottle of milk?). Harry detailed for Snape his suspicions that the Headmaster had a hand in setting up Harry to discover the Philosopher's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets. Snape sat silently as Harry continued to detail the Headmaster's hand in his schooling and 'summer imprisonment'. After the boy screeched out "I can't go to Gringots for the will reading - because its not safe - but I can go buy school supplies in the alley - on one of the busiest days of the summer!?!" Harry finally stopped. He threw himself into a chair and wearily rested his head in his hands. In order to try to regain control over himself, he kept his head down and his eyes shut.

Snape realized that the tantrum was long in coming. He had learned more about the boy's antics at school in the last 30 minutes than he had in all the staff meetings over the last 5 years. And he realized that Harry had made more than a few good points about the Headmaster's obsessive control over him.

Severus moved his chair closer to Harry and spoke in a calm voice.

"Harry, much of what you say is true, and the rest - though conjecture - seems likely to be true. The Headmaster seems to have had long term plans in place to guide, or control, your life. It is wise to remember that you can not change how other people act, only how you re-act. You need to decide how much independence you want to try to gain from the Headmaster, and you must consider the costs. Would you go so far as to leave Hogwarts? Abandon your friends? Do you even want to tip off the Headmaster that you know he has been trying to control you? Would it be better to play the game until you know what it is we are dealing with as far as what happened the eve of your birthday? Lupin mentioned to me that you were thinking of sneaking out to hear Black's will. You can run into that headlong, with nary a plan - or you can strategize, maybe make this part of a bigger plan to wriggle out from under his thumb. Ms. Tonks is next on patrol Tuesday morning. Lupin will be by tomorrow to discuss things with you."

During Snape's monologue, Harry kept his head in his hands. He only picked his head up when Snape had finished speaking and had set his hand on Harry's head in what some would think is an affectionate manner. Once Harry was looking up Snape asked "Do you require a calming draught?" Harry shook his head.

"I do not believe that Occlumency lessons would be worthwhile tonight." Snape said, and stood to leave. "You have done much to take control of your life this summer - at least in what parts of it that you could - with no support or help. That is admirable and shows strength, I commend you." Harry looked at his professor, shocked that the reserved man would compliment him. "While you are thinking about what I have said tonight, and I have no doubt that you will be thinking about it, remember that both Lupin and I are there for you in any way that you need. You need not do everything on your own, as you have until now. You need only ask, and you will have my help and support."

(Now wasn't THAT the strangest thing Harry had ever heard?)

* * *

(i am actually not that happy with this chapter, but I needed to show both Harry's desire for independence and Snape/Lupin's support of Harry - i hope that showed through)


	14. N xx Ways and Wills

[Saturday Aug 12]

Harry spent all day Saturday mulling over what Snape had said. He tried to think of plans, counter-plans and back-up plans to get to Gringotts to hear his godfather's will..

_Maybe I can go with Remus under my invisibility cloak - but Tonks might still tell Dumbledore, or maybe even the goblins I should just tell Dumbledore to go hang himself, but then could I return to Hogwarts? Would I still be safe there? If not, then where would I go?_

The problem came down to this, Dumbledore did something to him and/or the Dursleys/Lupin/Snape/Sirius and they still did not know what it was. If someone (namely Harry himself) let on that something had changed, just how **dangerous** would the Headmaster become? But honestly, could Harry just pretend nothing had changed? Could he tow the line - so to speak - until there was a better plan in place, or better way to protect him? Maybe, but he just did not think he was that good of an actor.

After much thought, Harry sat down and wrote a letter to Dumbledore:

_Headmaster_

_Thank you very much for the belated birthday greetings and for sending through my Hogwarts mail. I will consider which classes to take and send along my response before the deadline._

_I will be ready to leave the 21st. Any time spent with my friends, actually enjoying my summer, is appreciated._

_About Sirius' will. I am available this Tuesday (August 15) to hear it's reading. Surely it is no more dangerous for me to go to Diagon Alley, accompanied by an auror and Order member (Tonks and Lupin) than going en masse on one of the busiest days of the year to pick up supplies. I will even make use of my special cloak if need be. This is really important to me, in order to get closure over my godfather's death. You promised at the end of school last year not to keep me in the dark anymore, but once again you are telling me to do something, but not really telling me __**why**__._

_By the way, you may want to tell Fletcher not to smoke cigars before his guard duty. No one in the neighborhood smokes cigars and you can smell him a mile away. Also, there is some lady guard who uses way too much perfume._

_Thank you,_

_Harry_

When Remus came to visit that night, Harry showed him the letter.

"Do you think the Headmaster will OK this, or is he more likely to say I can't go get supplies?" Harry asked.

"I think you used just the right combination of logic and guilt to get him to see things your way, Harry." Remus commented. "If this letter doesn't get him to see things your way, nothing will."

"Is he going to be at Headquarters today or tomorrow?"

"There is an order meeting planned tonight. Why?"

"I was wondering if it would be better for you give it to him? Then he can't act like its totally outrageous - because you've already seen it and agreed to it."

"I can do that, it may help. I don't see it hurting any."

"It wont cause problems between you and him?" Harry asked, concerned about the power that Dumbledore held over the werewolf.

"No, he knows I visit, though he doesn't realize how often."

"Good. Its just, with everything that has happened in the last two weeks, I think I need to break away from him a little. I am trying to make it seem like 'normal' teen rebellion. Just realize, no matter what he says, I plan on going Tuesday morning to Gringotts - if you are up for it."

"I should be fine by Tuesday morning, thanks to Severus' potions."

"Great. Snape told me that Tonks will be on guard duty then, and if I take my cloak, no one even needs to know that I was near Gringotts. even if Dumbledore says no."

"That sounds fine, Harry. I'm with you."

"Thanks Remus. What about the logistics of getting there? I don't think the Knight Bus is a great idea."

"No, not very comfortable, that's for sure. We can apparate from Arabella's house, or use her floo. That is how Order members do it now. She will tell Dumbledore though if she sees you. Just keep that in mind."

"That's fine, I am just being a rebellious teen, trying to push against authority. I am sure that Snape will have lovely things to say about it - especially if I don't have the Headmaster's permission!"

"I'm sure he will. I will mention the letter to Tonks. She has been wanting to get this over with for a while."

"Great, thanks Remus. I really appreciate all your help."

"No problem. But to change the subject, I have some news about our little mystery. First of all, there are two things we figured out. The first, your birthday was the night of the new moon. That may or may not important. The second thing, and more interestingly, look at this page of the runes." Lupin pulled out the page he had with the runes, names and translations on it. "You see the names and their meanings?" He waited to Harry to scan the page and give a nod. "See how they are grouped? Well all of the ones that we are interested in are in the 'body part' group. I don't think we can write that off as coincidence."

"I see... tooth mouth hand palm... That is so cool." Harry said excitedly.

"Just so you know, Severus made contact with a Jordanian potions master that he is acquainted with. Apparently, all the big names in the field know each other, not only from the articles but from conferences and such. Anyway, he asked this man about trying to reference some ancient texts for some potion he is supposedly trying to develop, claiming that it is actually a reproduction of a lost ancient potion. He said this guy was a better choice than his Egyptian contact, because the Egyptians never really look outside of ancient Egypt -they are a bit ethnocentric that way- but the Jordanian would have a good handle on Phoenician texts."

"That's great, and we didn't have to involve Bill."

"Exactly. So Snape may be off to the Middle East for a few days. He said he would stop by to see you before he leaves, if only to give you 'homework' for while he is gone. He will be back before the 21st, since apparently Dumbledore has asked Snape to be part of your 'rescue' crew, under the pretense of needing to talk to you about your potions and occlumency classes next year. I think he also wants to talk to you about that before he leaves."

"Its so stupid of the Headmaster to force us together like that, especially since he is still sometimes called by Voldemort."

"Well, that's the way it is. Severus is a big boy and can manage."

* * *

Later that night, Remus contacted Harry via the mirror.

"Psst, Harry you up?"

"Yeah I'm here. How was the meeting?"

"Same as always. Snape tells us what he knows, Moody tells us he doesn't trust Snape or believe him, and Dumbledore tells us to prepare. Prepare for what I don't know since we never do anything other than watch you."

"Stupid."

"Yeah."

"Were you able to give him the note?"

Remus let out a chuckle. "Yes."

"What's so funny?"

"Snarky Snape in the background just accused you of having a Slytherin write the note."

"Ha ha ha."

"I gave it to Dumbledore in front of almost the whole Order. Mrs. Weasley of course immediately got all nervous about your safety, to which I reminded her that Tonks and I would be protecting you, as opposed to later in the month when she is going to be in the alley with at least six kids... that shut her up, and everyone else."

"Everyone?"

"Well, Snape made some nasty comments about you being pampered and needing to have your way, and how you could have the reading later in the month when you come to the alley."

"He's a great actor isn't he?"

*Who was acting?* Harry heard Snape say in the background.

"Ha ha ha." Harry said dryly.

"Anyway, thanks to Snape's comment, the Headmaster realized that if he didn't do it now he would have to let you go on the 30th, which security wise is worse. So we are set for Tuesday. Just so you know, he will be there too."

"The Headmaster?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because he will. Ours is not to reason why..."

"Maybe I shouldn't have warned him..." Harry hedged.

"No, its better this way. I even commented about teen rebellion and Molly agreed that this was normal behaviour... good job really."

"OK. Well, the important thing is getting to Gringotts."

"Tell The Menace I will be by Monday night." Snape called out in the background.

"Tell His Snarkiness I heard. I guess I'll see you Tuesday Remus - and you Monday Snape. Take care of yourself tomorrow, Remus."

With final goodbyes, the wizards closed the connections on the mirrors.

* * *

[Monday Aug 14]

When Snape entered the Dursley home in the evening, he was not expecting what he saw. Harry was trying out his 'rebelious teen' outfit. The darkly clad boy was very obviously not the same emotionally beaten boy that had lost his godfather just a few weeks prior. His physical appearance was totally overhauled - he was taller, tanned and more muscular. He had styled his hair into a longish, spiky mess and dyed the tips dark blue. He was not wearing his glasses and his peridot green eyes stood out on his face. Most apparent was how he carried himself, his stature yelled independence and strength. Snape did not think that Dumbledore would be happy with the changes, though he thought the female population of Hogwarts was going to be _quite _pleased.

"What, no piercings or tattoos?" asked Snape sarcastically.

"I don't think I will ever get a tattoo." Harry answered, looking pointedly at Snape's left arm. "Too many bad connotations. Petunia suggested an earring, but I figured I would see how tomorrow went before going all out."

"Petunia advised you to stick holes in your body? How odd." Snape commented, clearly not impressed with Petunia's advice.

"She helped me with the whole look. We went shopping together and she told me what she disapproved of most, and that is how I put together this look." Harry explained, posing like a model for the full effect.

Snape took in the boy's attire: very worn black jeans adorned with a double strand swag chain, sturdy black boots, tight black t-shirt with an unbuttoned dark plaid shirt (sleeves rolled-up) over it. On one wrist he wore a number of black leather chords, and around his neck a chord with a non-descript silver pendant hanging off of it.

"I believe that your Aunt is correct, this outfit sufficiently projects the image of rebellious and sulky teen. Try not to ruin that with your cheerful demeanor."

With that last comment the occlumency lesson commenced. After an hour of Harry trying to hold up his shields to his professor's mental battering, the lesson was finally called to an end.

"You are almost adequate at basic occlumency." Snape said. A huge compliment coming from him. "Always keep your shields up around The Headmaster. Actually, try to keep them up all the time - that will make them stronger."

"Won't he think its odd, me having shields up around him?" Harry asked.

"Keep your eyes down an he won't know. If he does catch a glimpse of them you can always say that you practiced after the MOM incident." Snape advised.

"Won't that get us out of lessons next term?"

"I don't believe so, The Headmaster has been pushing very hard for me to accept you into NEWT level potions, and to reestablish the occlumency lessons. Truth be told, I think you have a deeper connection to the Dark Lord. After all, he isn't making eye contact when you have your visions."

"Even if that is true, I haven't been getting visions since that night. Why continue?"

"I believe that you hurt him at the MOM. He is afraid of whatever it was that you did, so he is leaving you alone. This may not be a long term thing, Potter, just realize that"

"OK. I guess I will just consider this a vacation, and in the meanwhile try to strengthen my mind against my enemies." Harry said. "All my enemies." He added significantly.

Snape nodded his head in understanding but remained quiet..

"Oh, I heard that you liked my letter to The Headmaster." Harry added after a moment of silence.

"I never said that."

"No, your compliment was much more obvious, asking if I had a Slytherin write it." Harry has a sly smirk on his face.

Snape's face though had gone sour. He did not think his comment would be taken then way he meant it - as a compliment - and now he was upset that it was. In retribution, Snape cast a silent 'Legillimens' at Harry, only to find the boy's defenses up, and holding off his attack. Harry's smirk became exponentially larger.

Harry was finding his new reality interesting. He was able, for the first time in his life, to seek the advice of adults. His aunt was helping him plot and scheme. The most bizzare change of all was that he was able to talk, and even joke a bit with, The Imposing Professor Snape. He realized that he liked being able to ask Remus his opinion, have his aunt on his side and have a rapport with Snape.

Harry sat quietly and tried to read his occlumency book, but his mind would not stay on that topic. He did not want to waste the time that Snape was with him by reading, so he started asking about the older man's upcoming trip, which led the conversation back to the research going on about the odd occurrences on Harry's birthday.

"Sir, Remus showed me what you figured out with the runes, how they are all from the same grouping. Do you think that will help you find out what this is all about?" Harry asked.

"Obviously, the more information we have, the more likely it is to find the source of the changes we have all gone through. I am, unfortunately, not surprised that you did not see the connection between the runes, as Lupin and myself did."

Harry bristled at that comment. "What do you mean by that?" He asked, defensively.

"Well, it has always been obvious to me that you do not pay attention to details." Commented the professor.

Harry tried to curb his initial anger at the insult, a testament to how far along his relationship with Snape had progressed. "Really? In what way?"

"For example, when a potion calls for fresh sage roots and you use powdered sage. Its obvious that you just did not bother with the details. You asked me how I seem to have eyes behind my head, or know what people are thinking - its because I pay attention to details. People's faces generally project their feelings. Actions like fidgeting or looking down can betray ones thoughts. I don't miss these little things, and I remember everything. I also happen to be rather logical so I can put seemingly unrelated bits of a puzzle together."

Before Harry knows it, they are into a discussion in which his professor is pointing out many of Harry's shortcomings. Most of the discussion centered around Harry's lack of observing details, poor research skills and even poorer documentations skills. Harry admitted to Snape that as a child he was discouraged from doing better than Dudley, and he was never got passed his bad habits. He agreed that while having Hermione as a friend helped in some ways, it also gave him a crutch in many of his weak areas. At the end of the conversation, the older wizard assigned his student a task. While Snape was away, Harry was to research - and execute - ways to build his memory and attention to detail. Upon his return, Snape expected a organized document about the research and the implementation. Harry grumbled about being assigned extra homework over the summer holidays, but realized that his professor was right.

* * *

[Tuesday Aug 15]

Tuesday morning Remus and Tonks picked up Harry from the Dursley's. Tonks was shocked and impressed at how Harry looked.

They were able to get him to Gringotts without anyone recognizing him. Dumbledore was there waiting for them and he was NOT impressed with Harry's new look or attitude. He wondered to himself how the boy had grown so much - but wrote it off to a teenage growth spurt. He was not really sure how much Harry had grown because he was ignoring him for the last year. Harry made a point of standing very straight, which he had never done before. Whoever saw him would think that at least part of the growth was really just posture. Harry made a point to look to Remus any time The Headmaster asked him a question. Harry did this to avoid Dumbledore being able to look into his eyes. It had the added benefit of giving the old wizard the impression that Harry, while rebelling, was still seeking approval from a father figure - one that said old man thought he had a lot of control over. Harry had made a decision before arriving at Gringotts. He decided that since he had won the major battle about getting the will read, that he would not push (too hard) about anything that The Headmaster said - for the meanwhile. Harry was hoping that it would give Dumbledore the impression that his rebellion was only about the will.

The group of four was led to a private room for the reading. An official looking goblin, in a three piece suit, read the will quickly and efficiently. Sirius had left five thousand galleons for the Tonks family, who was represented at the reading by Tonks (Nymphadora). Remus was left fifteen hundred galleons and the flying motorcycle. Everything else was left to Harry. This included - but was not limited to - #12 Grimmauld Place and all its contents - including Kreacher, one percent stock in Zonkos and approximately ten thousand galleons. Harry was by no means independently wealthy, but he knew that he had the money to be comfortable while he decided to do with his life. He was tempted to boot the Order from Grimmauld Place, but decided that no change needed to be made just yet. When the goblin finished reading the will, he passed out envelopes to the three inheritors, explaining that they each had a personalized message. When Dumbledore tried taking Harry's, 'for safe keeping', the goblin allowed his suit to fall open, revealing a poison tipped dagger, and explained to the old man that interfering with official Gringotts buisness was not a wise idea. The three read their letters, behind a goblin provided privacy bubble. They each laughed a little and cried a little as they read their letters. When they had finished reading their letters, they decided to take advantage of the privacy bubble.

At first they spoke of their letters, which while parts were funny or moving, all said basically the same thing: Beware of Dumbledore. Sirius said that he did not remember the details but he felt 'wrong' about the man, ever since he got out of Azkaban. He referred to it as his 'doggy sense' which helped him know who to trust. He also thought Dumbledore obliviated him (repeatedly he suspected) and somehow bound him not to talk about his unease. Other than that, he asked for the three of them to look out for each other - especially for Harry - and be like a family to each other. They spend a few moments talking about Sirius and sharing stories about him. Then they burnt their letters and disposed of the ashes.

Dumbledore, who was outside of the privacy bubble - being watched by the officiating goblin - was wondering what they were doing. He was worried about what might have been in the letters. He became a bit nervous when he saw them burn the letters and banish the ashes, fearing that Sirius had somehow figured how to communicate his suspicions to the three. The old wizard relaxed though when he realized that none of them were looking at him, they were all just looking at each other - had there been anything about him in the letters he was convinced that at least one of them would look his way. When they finally broke the privacy bubble, after an awful display of sentiment, he inquired about the letters. Tonks told him the contents of the letters, only holding back about Sirius' distrust of the man. Remus explained that since they did not have a body for a funeral they burnt the letters instead. Harry was to teary eyed to really talk. The old man was not going to risk legilimizing them with the goblin present, so he took what they said as truth - being that their demeanors where that of mourning and not suspicion.

The goblin quickly got through the rest of the official business. Papers were signed and gold transferred. When all was finished The Headmaster insisted that Harry go straight back to Privet Drive. Remus agreed to take him back, ignoring Harry's dark looks. And a cheerful Headmaster bid them good-day and went about his business.

Almost as soon as the old man disappeared, Harry started in on Remus.

"I can't believe you agreed to take me back now. I wanted to at least see the twins' shop." Harry complained.

Remus held up a hand to prevent further protest. "Great idea." He said with a smile. "And then we can go out for lunch - as long as you don't get mobbed."

Harry's confused look made Tonks laugh.

"Just because I agreed with him," Remus explained reasonably, "doesn't mean I had any intention of actually doing what he asked. I knew it was the only way to get rid of him."

Luckily, Harry was able to enjoy a few hours out with Tonks and Remus before returning to Privet Drive. Tonks made it back just in time to be in position when her replacement guard came, and Harry was able to make it to his afternoon gardening job. A rather uneventful end to a rather spectacular day.


	15. S xx Jordan

Severus was an expert at research, but he had to concede that there were very few facts to base his current search upon. He felt as if he was searching for a needle in a haystack Even worse, he was hoping to find the haystack in Jordan. He had the six runes, which were assumed to be related to 'Potter's mystery' - or 'the curse' as he internally referred to it - and the fact that 'the curse' broke on Potter's 16th birthday- which also happened to be a new moon. The boy was at the center of _it _- that was for sure, but _it_ was applied, or transferred, to four entities: Snape, Lupin, Black and the Dursleys. There were not a lot of facts to go on, and he only had the one week to research. Once he returned to England he was required to be at Hogwarts to get ready for the upcoming school year. He hoped he would not return empty handed.

Other than facts, Snape had Magic, as an intellectual pursuit, to help him. Like in science, there are certain rules to Magic, though only the intellectual elite talk about them in any depth. In science there are rules about inertia, reactions and energy produced - which most people do not know well enough to discuss beyond the fact that the rules exists. Magic too has such rules, the most important one in this case being 'The Basic Rule of Neutralization'. The rule states that any magic performed can be neutralized. For every poison there is an antidote. For every hex, charm and transfiguration there is a reversal. For every curse there is a counter or a neutralizing factor. Simply put, there is always some way to undo magic that has been done. There are very few cases (cruciatius being one) where the neutralizer is not known. The killing curse can not be 'undone' - dead is dead after all, but under the right circumstances - like in the case of Harry Potter - the curse may be nullified upon connection with its target. Generally, the more complex the magic, the more convoluted the nullifier.

Snape knew this, and it seemed like Potter again had beaten all odds and countered a curse when it was not expected. Snape was convinced that Dumbledore would never have put a curse on the boy if he knew the boy would learn the truth. Either the Headmaster was mistaken about what would lead to countering the curse, or he did not realize that the counter included the memories of the curse being applied - to all involved.

Snape was able to escape both of his masters by claiming to go on a personal research trip, after all, the best lie was one based on the truth. He had to promise both Dumbledore and The Dark Lord a full report on his findings. Needless to say neither of them really knew where he was going or what he was researching, but he would be sure to make an interesting report to both of them - if need be he could base it on previously researched material. Dumbledore assumed he was going to research the Wolfsbane potion and Voldemort assumed he was going to research Dark Arts and Dark Potions.

Snape did not trust anyone, and certainly not the Jordanians he was in contact with. He told them that he was researching the runes-potions connection, which he had done years ago for the Latin runes, but was interested in Phoenician runes.

Regardless of the seriousness of his mission, Snape felt as though he was on vacation. Snape woke early, as was his habit. He spent the earliest morning hours in his morning routine - physical exercise - brisk walk, spiritual exercise - yoga/meditation and then cleaning up. Breakfast was at 8:00. Snape spent the hour discussing all sorts of matters wih his host, Raji, and other guests. It was a pleasure for him to discuss literature, spell crafting, even muggle politics - with other intellectuals.

He spent from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM in the libraries of Irbid and its archives, without breaking for lunch. He thanked Merlin for cooling charms. On one parchment he wrote a number of things that he would be able to pass along to Voldemort or Dumbledore, and on a separate parchment he wrote the things which interested him personally - which he hoped to research more fully at another time. The third parchment, the one dealing with Potter's mystery, unfortunately remained blank.

When the library closed at 6:00 PM he would unwind and dine with his host and the man's friends and guests. Most of them were masters in some field of magic that wanted to meet the great British potions master. It was amazing that people would go out of their way for an opportunity to meet with him, Severus Snape. He was so wrapped up with being 'the bat of the dungeons' at Hogwarts, that he often forgot the sound professional name that he had made for himself.

At dinner Friday night, Severus found himself with a group of masters from the Middle East and North Africa. The Turkish historian and the Egyptian Potions Master got into a deep conversation about battle tactics. Snape had been worrying for some time over the odd connection between Potter and Voldemort - specifically the visions the boy had of the Dark Lord's actions. He felt this was a good opportunity to get a fresh perspective of the problem. Snape inquired into the idea of planting a spy in the enemy camp, not for reporting back, but for viewing directly through them - possessing them, but without controlling them. Quickly the conversation spun into spells that could do similar things, but all were limited by distance and time - not to mention the power of the caster.

"Unless the two are soul-bound." Added Salim, a charms master from Morocco. The short comment shifted the conversation to that direction, speaking of soul binding and soul mates. While the conversation was fascinating, Snape did not feel it resolved any of his questions regarding the Dark Lord/Boy-Who-Lived link.

It was fortuitous that this night, a runes master was present at the meal. Khalil was an older man, a bit on the pudgy side. He had a gray beard that came down just past the neckline of his brown tunic. He was a quiet and serious man. Over after dinner drinks Snape was able to engage him in a conversation about runes. Snape had humbly admitted that runes was not his strong point, but he had learned the Greek/Latin runes in school. Snape explained how he had combined runes and potions in some instances - and was trying to do something similar with more ancient runes.

"Phoenician Runes are the simplest and strongest of the ancient Middle Eastern runes." Khalil explained. "They are separated into groups - man, shelter, sustenance and wealth. The last two groups have some overlapping runes, that take their meaning depending on the context. If you want to bless or curse a man's physical, spiritual or emotional self then the runes from the 'man' group are used. If you want to bless or curse a persons home - which can include genealogical ascendants or descendants or physical home, the shelter group is used. And so on. For warding an area use the shelter group, for protection spells on a person you would combine man and shelter."

"It seems ridiculously logical and simple." Snape commented. "When in school we learned that some spells can be anchored by runes - to make them stronger or more resilient."

"Yes, of course it is the same here. But only the most ancient of spells can be ground by ancient runes."

"Oh, of course, the Law of Collaborative Spell/Rune precedence." Snape stated. "Simply put the spell must be older than the rune when working together. That was not an issue for us in school because we were using both Latin spells and runes for the most part." Snape paused in deep thought. "Of course, that doesn't apply to the potions I am researching because there is no casting involved with them. Still this topic is fascinating to me. Would you be able to recommend me a book about these runes we have been discussing, and some spells they work with. I do so enjoy learning new aspects of magic."

Khalil laughed a bit. "I understand all to well the fascination with topics such as this. I can stop by the library in the morning and show you some wonderful references. It is the least I can do for the foremost potions developer in Europe."

Snape blushed a bit at the compliment, and thanked the man for his agreeing to help.


	16. I xx Kreacher of the Black's a Loon

Harry's crazy summer had turned even crazier to him. Where most of the summer he was enjoying working on his own personal projects, he now found himself in the library (of all places) doing an assignment that Snape gave him. The crazy part was that even though he knew he did not really have to do it, after all it wasn't school work, he wanted to. Not only did he realize that trying to improve his memory and attention to detail was important, but he wanted to make Snape proud of him. It was an intense few weeks that brought Harry, his relatives, Snape and Remus to this point, but he was really glad about it.

Harry had decided to submit his work in three sections to Snape. First, he wrote a short essay about how memory works. This essay included long term and short term memory, how memory and the five senses are linked and what parts of the brain are used to store different memories. Then, Harry wrote out the different games and memory tricks he managed to find. He even made note, where appropriate of what type of memory or which part of the brain would be affected by the game. Finally, he made a log to track the games he played, how often and for how long. He even wrote his impressions of the games. Harry hoped that this would satisfy his professor's sadistic need to assign him extra summer assignments.

* * *

(Thursday, August 17)

Thursday evening Remus was able to come by to see Harry. It was the first time they had been able to see each other since the trip to the bank. There had been Order members staying at Grimmauld Place all week, so the two had not even been able to communicate through the mirrors for more than just a few minutes each night, just long enough to make sure that there were no emergencies. Harry told Remus about his week and Remus filled Harry in on the Order news, which wasn't much.

"So the Order members are staying close to London, so they can keep an eye on Diagon Alley and such leading up to the pre-school shopping rush." Remus explained.

"Well, it must be nice for you to have other people around."

"It is, for the most part. As much as Mrs. Weasley has been cleaning, and getting others to help out, the house is just depressing. I think it has been getting worse instead of better. Kreacher has been no help." Harry's eyes flashed in anger at hearing the name of the traitorous house elf, but was able to hold his comments to himself. "Dumbledore tried sending him to Hogwarts, but since Dumbledore isn't his master, the elf is bound to the house."  
"Well, then why don't you sent that worthless elf away?" Harry asked angrily.

Remus looked at Harry with a bit of pity in his eyes. "Harry, you are Kreacher's master. Sirius left everything but some money to you."  
Harry's eyes grew wide in shock. He had not realized what his inheritance from Sirius really meant - the truth is that he tried not to think about it.

"Then I can send him away." Harry reasoned, with a bit of an evil look in his eye.

"Wait, Harry. Kreacher knows too much. Dumbledore was going to send him to Hogwarts, but since he is not bound to Hogwarts nothing would keep him there. The Headmaster wouldn't listed when others explained this, but I think we are actually lucky that Kreacher is bound to the house until you tell him otherwise."

Harry deflated a bit. While he knew revenge was bad he really did want revenge on the elf that betrayed Sirius. On the other hand, he realized that he could not risk information about the Order getting into the hands of Sirius' cousins.

"But I can order him to clean up, right?" Asked Harry. "And to be nice to everyone."

"You can ask, but he is pretty demented for an elf, I don't know how much he will listen to you. He rarely listened to Sirius, and he was a Black."

"Well, I can try." Harry replied to Remus, and then shouted - "Kreacher!"

With a pop, the miserable, dirty house elf was before it's new master.

"You called, Unworthy Master?" The elf asked, it's scratchy voice irritating Harry almost as much as the elf's presence.

"Yes, I did. I want you to help keep Grimmauld Place cleaner, and to try to stay out of everyone's' way there. Do you understand?" Harry spoke firmly, in what he hoped was a commanding voice.

What Harry did not realize was that to control a house elf you had to give it a clear command, and mean it - to say 'try to', 'would you' or 'please' was like giving the elf a way out of what it was ordered to do.

"I understand, Unworthy Master." The elf answered, with an oily smile on his face. "I will obey you as poorly as I did my previous Unworthy Master."

Harry's anger finally boiled over at the reference to Sirius, and the elf's snide smile.

"I should kill you for what you did to Sirius, you lousy elf!" Harry shouted. "Why are you such a miserable elf?... answer me!"

Kreacher felt compelled to obey his new master's direct order and before he was able to control himself he blurted out "Because task was left undone."

Harry and Remus were both shocked that the elf had even answered. Remus recovered first and asked "What task?"

The elf did not need to answer Remus, but Harry commanded bit by bit of the story out of the elf. It took nearly an hour, but Kreacher reluctantly told them about how Master Regulus had ordered him to go with Voldemort to perform a task, and then return. The task was to go to a cave and drink an awful potion from a vat, so Voldemort could put a pendant into the vat - which instantly refilled with more of the potion. He explained how it had been difficult to return, because of the magic on the cave and the effects of the potion, but he was able to because he had been commanded to do so. Remus figured that You-Know-Who underestimated house elves and thought the elf would die there.

Kreacher continued the story, telling how Master Regulus ordered him to tell of what happened with The Dark Lord. Regulus had ordered Kreacher to take them back to the cave so they could switch the locket, which Kreacher was ordered to destroy. Kreacher was upset and not being able to get his Master Regulus out of the cave, but returned to Grimmauld Place to destroy the locket, but has been unable to do so.

"For twenty years duty not done. " Kreacher said sadly, "It makes loyal elf mad."

Harry was fuming with anger. He wanted to hate this elf. Kreacher had betrayed Sirius! But right now, he could only feel very sorry for the miserable elf.

"The pendant of You-Know-Who, what is it exactly? Why did Regulus want you to destroy it?" Remus asked.

Harry was getting ready to command the elf to answer, knowing he was not obligated to otherwise, when  
"Is a soul keeper." The elf whispered, terrified to have spoken the words out loud.

Neither Harry nor Remus knew what the elf meant.

"Are there books about this in the library at Grimmauld Place?" Remus asked.

"We need to know what this means, now, before we go any further." Harry said to Kreacher. "Bring us a book immediately, from Grimmauld Place, that explains this. And don't be seen."

The elf nodded, and disappeared with a crack, only to appear a minute later with an old book in hand.

Remus quickly went through the book, paling as he read.

"Its a horcrux." Remus said. Kreacher began to shake.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know what that is."

The former professor explained that a horcrux was an item that kept a part of a person's soul. If the person was killed, the horcrux would keep them tied to the mortal plane. He also explained that a horcurx was made by committing a soul splitting act - murder - and then a ritual to bind the soul to the object.

Before letting Kreacher return to Grimmauld Place, Harry again asked him to help clean and not bother the people staying there.

"Why should I obey Unworthy Master?" asked the nasty elf.

"Because I _will _destroy the locket for you." Harry said with conviction.

Hope gleamed in the elf's eyes. He knew his new master was strong, and just maybe he would be able to destroy the locket.

"I can't do it until I return to school," Harry explained to the elf. "But there are basilisk fangs that only I can get to, that should destroy it."

Harry turned to Remus, "I think the diary that I destroyed second year was a similar item. Tom Riddle came out of the diary and told me he had poured his soul into the book - and when I stabbed it with the basilisk fang..." Harry gulped, "it screamed."

Remus' eyes were nearly as round as Kreacher's. "You can really destroy the soul-locket?" Kreacher asked, awed.

"Yes, I think so. The diary was at given to The Malfoys by Voldemort. Do you know anything about it?" Harry asked Kreacher.

"No, Unworthy Master." The elf shook his head so hard that his ears flopped around.

"Nacissa was a Black, and you saw her last year."

"Elves not leave their houses unless allowed. I not allowed till last year." Kreacher explained. "But.." Kreacher caught himself before continuing his thought.

"But what?" Harry asked.

"Elf should not advise Master, not even Unworthy Master."

"I am not a normal master, I want to know what you are thinking right now. Tell me." Harry said to the elf

"If there are more, perhaps Master Evil gave them others. There is another Dark Lemming who was once a Black."

Harry's face clouded over, Kreacher was talking about Bellatrix.

"Do not go see her, " He told the elf angrily. "Maybe, after I have destroyed the locket and earned your loyalty, I will send you to her on a mission."

Kreacher gave an evil elf smile, "Unworthy Master is smarter than he looks." The elf commented.

Harry, finally getting the hang of commanding a house elf demanded that Kreacher tell him anything else that Harry should know about the locket.

"Kreacher hides locket, but cleaning red-heads try to bin it." The elf explained.

"We can keep the locket in my room." Remus offered. "No one will bother it there."

"OK," Harry agreed. "Kreacher, when you can safely and secretly do so, put the locket in Remus' room and tell him where you hid it. Now, Kreacher, when you return you will help keep the house clean. You will tell no one of talking to me today, or what we talked about. You will not change the way you have been acting to others, but in private you will treat Remus and Professor Snape with respect. You will also keep an eye on everything that is going on at the house, especially what Headmaster Dumbledore says and does. Do you understand?"

The elf nodded.

Harry asked Remus, "Is there anything else you can think of?"

Remus thought for a minute. "Are there any portraits in the house that have another portrait somewhere else, and if so where? We never asked about Malfoy or LeStrange having any Black portraits."

Harry had to command Kreacher to give the information to Remus. The only duplicate portrait outside of the house was at Hogwarts. It was the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black, in the Headmasters office.

"That's no good." Harry mumbled. Then, looking at Remus he asked, "Should we store his portrait in the attic?"

"It depends where the portrait's loyalty lies, with The House of Black, or The Headmaster of Hogwarts." Remus told Harry.

Wearily, Harry compelled Kreacher to tell him about the portrait.

"Portraits be loyal to The House of Black." The elf told him.

"Yes, but are they loyal to me?" Harry demanded.

"Portraits be loyal to The Head of Black, if he is worthy."

"I thought I was unworthy." Commented Harry.

Kreacher gave Harry a serious, searching look. "You is getting worthier."

The look chilled Harry a bit, as did the comment, but he decided for now to leave Phineas Black where he was. He ordered Kreacher back to Grimmauld Place, reminding the elf of his orders.

An exhausted Harry fell back on to his chair. Remus smirked his way and said,"I don't know exactly what happened here Harry, but it looks like you have another fan club member."


	17. P xx Returns

Harry woke up his last morning on Privet Drive, and decided to treat his family to breakfast. He had not made breakfast for them the whole summer and decided that it would be a nice send off. He made his way down to the kitchen in his pajamas and began to cook. When his Aunt Petunia woke up she was shocked that Harry was making them breakfast, but instead of commenting she simply helped things along by setting the table and cleaning up the messes that were made. By the time everyone was in the kitchen, a lovely full meal was on the table. The whole family sat down together to eat. When the meal was done, the Dursleys said their goodbyes to Harry, and for the first time ever, wished him well. Harry promised to figure out a way keep in touch during the year.

As 10:00 AM rolled around, Harry was showered, packed and ready to go - save for the fact that he did not know _where_ he was supposed to be going. He was also not sure when he would be picked up, so he just sat around waiting for his guards to arrive. He was dressed in his 'rebellious teen' outfit again, mostly because he decided that he really liked the way it looked on him. He chose to wear his new glasses instead of contacts. He had gotten a pair that suited his face better - they were black metal frames and rectangular in shape.

The previous night Harry had spoken to Remus, who also did not know where Harry would be staying. Remus had also not heard from Snape, and was wondering if he was going to go from Jordan straight to Harry's house.

At 10:30 there was a knock on the door. Snape and Kingsley Shacklebolt had arrived to get Harry. Snape looked as he always did, snarky and brooding. Harry was hoping for some sign as to how the trip to Jordan went, but Snape would not give anything away in front of Shacklebolt. Harry said his goodbyes to his aunt, who acted cold to him, and then he was lead out of Surrey, happy to finally be able to see his friends.

Happy, until he saw where he was taken to, and who was waiting for him there. The portkey from Arabella Figg's home took Harry directly into the drawing room of Grimmauld Place, where he was met by the smiling, twinkling Albus Dumbledore.

"Harry, welcome. I take it you have had a pleasant week since I have seen you last?" The Headmaster greeted him.

Harry saw red. He became incensed at the old man daring to welcome him into his own home. He caught a warning glare from Snape before he opened his mouth, and was careful in how he directed his anger towards the old man.

"I thought you weren't going to bring me here," Harry raged. "You know its too depressing for me here." He claimed, though really the place looked better than it had when Harry was there last Christmas.

"Now, now, dear boy," Dumbledore said to him, condescendingly. "This is only a temporary measure. How about you take your things to the room you were in last year, and greet your friends. Molly is in the kitchen preparing an exquisite lunch, I am sure that will make you feel better."

Harry grabbed his things and stormed out of the room. As he was leaving he could hear Snape asking for permission to return to Hogwarts and being denied.

By the time Harry made it to his room he had gotten control of himself. He really was happy to see Ron, Hermione and Ginny. After gawking at his appearance, they filled him in on the twins new store and their own summer. They pressed Harry for details of his summer, he gladly told them that he was able to work around the neighborhood, and that his relatives did not treat him as badly as years past. When they asked about his appearance, both his new build and his new style, he simply told them that he bought clothes that he liked with the money he had earned, and he finally (FINALLY) hit a growth spurt. He could tell that they weren't satisfied with his answers, after all - who grows eight inches in two months?

Mrs. Weasley had prepared a wonderful lunch. She fussed over Harry as she normally did, even though he was not the frail boy he usually was at the end of a summer by the Dursleys. He appreciated her attention, but he did not appreciate half of the Order being there. He wanted time to relax with his friends and he wanted to speak to Snape and Lupin. Finally, lunch was over and most of the order had said their goodbyes. Mungdunus Fletcher had disappeared a few minutes earlier and the Headmaster was hanging around to talk to the Tonks and Shaklebolt about the auror department at the ministry.

Harry and the other teens were making their way to the library when there was a loud disturbance in the foyer. When the teens made it down the stairs they were met with the visage of a half crazed elf sitting upon the back of a slovenly wizard. Mungdunus Fletcher, better known as 'Dung', was lying on the floor with his hands over his head in an attempt to protect himself from the physical assault. The elf was repeatedly screaming that Dung was trying to steal something from the house.

Remus was able to pull the half crazed elf off of the wizard, while Shacklebolt lifted up Fletcher and held on to him. By this time Dumbledore had arrived at the scene.

"I think the time has come that I finally do something about this elf." The Headmaster said, drawing his wand.

Surprisingly, to Harry at least, this was met with many shouts of protest.

"Headmaster, you can't"

"This is unheard of."

"You know what it will bring."

"I can not have this elf attacking Order members." The Headmaster said sternly. He was using his 'I shall be obeyed' voice. "I have warned him before that I would see his head mounted on the wall if he did not behave."

"Why doesn't someone check Fletcher's pockets?" Hermione suggested. "It seems only reasonable to check the elf's claims before threatening to kill him."

"You do not understand." The old wizard explained (in his 'I am talking to a child' voice). "This elf contributed to Sirius' death and he knows too much about the Order. He is a threat to us all and must be put down."

"Headmaster, you know the pureblood ways." Molly said, her tone had carried a warning.

"I am sure that it is not an issue. Sirius would have agreed with me." The Headmaster said with confidence.

"Yes, but Sirius is no longer the head of house." Lupin reminded the old man.

Harry was clearly confused. "Could somebody please explain what is going on? What is the problem with the Headmaster killing the elf?"

Triumph gleamed in Dumbledore's eyes. "Harry," Molly started to explain, "If a man kills another family's elf, it is like declaring war on the family. It basically says that he is trying to control the other family by controlling their possessions."

These word echoed in Harry's mind. That was exactly what the Headmaster was doing, he was laying claim to Harry's inheritance by trying to control Kreacher and the house. Harry had not told his friends about him inheriting the Black estate, he did not want to deal with the reality of it. It seemed to him now that he was going to have to step up to his responsibilities as the head of house.

"Mr. Shacklebolt, could you please check Fletcher's pockets." Harry asked politely.

"Harry.." The Headmaster began.

"I will deal with my elf if need be Headmaster." Harry said with some steel in his voice. "But I will not allow you to 'accidentally' declare war on me by acting without my permission." Harry was pretty proud of himself for making it seem like he was doing this for the old man's sake. Unfortunately his statement caused murmurings around him, the Order now knew that he was the head of house.

Sure enough, the large auror found three solid silver goblets in Dung's pockets. The goblets were embossed with the Black seal.

"I will not allow people to steal from me." Harry stated. "Headmaster, if you insist that this man return for meetings then **you** must guarantee that he is escorted."

"Harry, surely you understand how impractical that is." Dumbledore wheedled.

"Then have him report to you at the school. While I have given you permission to continue using this house as headquarters, I did not give free reign over the house and its contents. I will control my elf, I suggest you control your Order members." Harry said to Dumbledore, but for the benefit of the other members present. "Kreacher, please go to your room, I will speak with you later." The elf popped away.

The Headmaster pulled Fletcher aside, as Harry's friends began to inundate him with questions. They retreated to the boys' room so that they could talk in relative privacy. Harry fessed up to having inherited pretty much everything of Sirius'. He also told them how the Headmaster had tried to keep him away from hearing the will reading. Harry attributed any anger he felt towards Dumbledore to that issue.

After dinner, Molly announced that the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry would all be going to the Burrow for the remainder of the summer. This came as no surprise to Harry, who was convinced that this was arranged by Dumbledore because of Harry taking a stand as the head of house. Harry was pleased though, because he knew he would be much happier at the Burrow than cooped up at Grimmauld Place.

Before Harry left, he was able to see Lupin for a few minutes. They knew that while Harry was at the Burrow they would not be able to use the mirrors, because Harry would have no privacy. Remus told him not to worry about the research Snape was doing, or about Dumbledore. That he, Remus, would help keep the house protected, as would Tonks - as a member of the family, and Snape. Harry was also able to call Kreacher and thank him for protecting the house. He told the elf to keep up the good work.

* * *

[August 23rd]

After just two days of being at the Weasleys, Harry felt more relaxed than he had in ages. He was having fun with his friends playing quidditch and other games. The most work any of the kids did was set a table or degnome the yard. While his summer at Privet Drive this time was not bad, it had been filled with work. Now, he was able to relax, he had even taken to napping in the afternoons. The only downside to the visit was that he was still keeping some things from his friends. All of the Weasleys realized something was odd was going on between Harry and Dumbledore. The way the old man nearly killed Kreacher and the way he quickly flip-flopped on where to spend the vacation. Harry mentioned that the Headmaster must be angry at him for the whole Ministry of Magic debacle and for destroying his office at the end of the year.

As was usual at the Burrow, meals were mayhem. There was always plenty of food, and multiple conversations going on at once. The twins had come for dinner, which made things even livelier. Towards the end of the meal there was a noticeable magical disturbance.

"The wards." Said Arthur.

"Kids, get through the floo to Grimmauld Place." Ordered Molly.

The younger teens tried to protest, but the Weasley parents would have none of it. Within minutes Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sitting in the parlor of the Order headquarters. When they came through the floo they told the Order members of an attack on the Burrow, and all the adults in the house disappeared, leaving the teens alone, and worried.

What seemed like days later - to the teens at least - but was merely thirty minutes, the floo flared to life, bringing with it the first of the returning Order members. Remus came through with Harry's trunk, and Tonks had Hermione's. The Weasley parents had brought through clothes for them and their children.

"What happened?" - "Is everyone all right?" - "Was there damage to the house?" - the teens were bursting with questions.

Molly made sure to hug all of the children, Harry and Hermione included, while Arthur explained that there was an attack, but the wards held and there was no damage.

"The Death Eaters must have heard that I was with you, I am so sorry Mr. and Mrs Weasley." Harry said, feeling rather guilty.

"Tosh, I doubt they heard anything, so much as assumed you may be with us." Molly reasoned. "But don't you feel guilty. They would attack us without you there just as happily."

"With your permission Harry," Arthur asked, "I think it would be safest for us to spend the rest of the summer here."

It was strange to Harry that he was being asked permission, after all, the Weasleys had spent part of the summer at Grimmauld Place without his permission. But Harry gladly gave his permission and they all sorted themselves out into their bedrooms.

Later that evening people arrived for an Order meeting. Harry was pleased to see that Dung was not there. The main reason for the meeting, Arthur and Remus had explained to the kids, was to go over the details of the attack on the Burrow and to inform the Order that they would all be staying at headquarters until September first. Harry and the others had tried to stay for the meeting, but Dumbledore and Molly quickly got rid of them. Harry thought of putting up a fuss, but instead he meekly went with the others.

About an hour after the teens retreated, Snape came pounding on the door to the boys' room.

"Potter." He said as he opened the door. "In the Headmaster's infinite wisdom, he has decided that regardless of my schedule, I am to begin occlumency lessons with you tonight. Follow me."

With that, Snape whirled around stomped off. Harry shrugged to Ron and ran to catch up with his professor.

Snape managed to keep ahead of Harry until they arrived at the library. When they entered, Harry was releived to find Remus was waiting for them.

"Because of the disaster which was your lessons last year," Remus explained - staring pointedly at the open library door, "I was asked to chaperone these lessons."

"Oh, that's probably a good thing." Harry said. "Thank you Remus."

"So that I am not accused of doing something untoward," Snape snarked, "Would you please close the door and ward it. Any disturbances during the lesson may cause one of us harm."

When Lupin warded the door, all three wizards physically relaxed. Harry realized that it was the first time since leaving the Dursleys, that he had been able to talk with either of these men. They seated themselves around a small round table. Snape and Lupin filled Harry in on that evening's Order meeting, which was nothing more than the obvious 'there was an attack at the Burrow, Harry will now be staying here'.

"What the Headmaster does not know," Snape informed his cohorts "Is that it was _I_ that informed the Dark Lord that you were at the Burrow."

Harry's initial reaction was to have a fit, but he managed to keep his cool long enough to let his professor explain.

"I, of course, was placed in charge of the attack. Therefore, I was able to control it. No one was hurt and there was minor property damage. I was not punished for the attack being a failure because we forced you to flee. The Dark Lord seems to enjoy seeing his enemies run. And, to forestall your obvious next question, I told him because I felt it was important for you to be here. The three of us have much to discuss and to accomplish in just a few days. I apologize for cutting into your recreation time."

After dropping his bombshell, Snape let Harry take the floor. Surprisingly, to Severus at least, Harry did not use the opportunity to berate Snape about his actions. Harry said he understood the logic behind it and moved on. He spoke of the extra project that Snape had given him. Remus then complimented Harry on the way he was dealing with the Headmaster.

Snape began to discuss his trip to Jordan. He explained about Khalil exchanging books with him - for Snape had to lend out some of his rare potions and dark arts books in exchange for Khalil's runes books.

"They are large, poorly organized tomes, all written on an extremely high level. They must be read, not skimmed through. Because of that, the research is slow going. I also have not had much time since my return, what with preparations for the school year and dealing with two masters. I am confident though that the answer lies in one of these volumes."

Remus of course agreed to help with the research. Harry would have liked to, but he did not think he would be able to do that very well with Hermione and Ron around.

As their time together was winding down, Remus told Snape about the conversation that they had with Kreacher about the locket, Regulus' disappearance and Kreacher's descent into insanity. Harry mentioned that he thought he could destroy the locket with a basilisk fang, as he did the diary in the Chamber of Secrets. Snape was quite interested in the basilisk

"We should make a business arrangement, Potter, concerning the marketing of the creature's parts." Snape suggested.

"Well, we can talk about that back at school, since I am the only one who can access the Chamber. Once that is done and the horcrux is destroyed, I won't mind talking business with you."

"Horcrux," whispered Snape, as all the blood drained from his already pale face. The words of Salim, the Moroccan charms master's came back to haunt him - _'Unless the two are soul-bound'_.

* * *

A/N - If you notice a decrease in quality of my writing, it is because I have decided that because of the seeming lack of interest (reviews/C2s/favorites/hits), I was just going to finish the story quickly so that it is out of the way. I love the story too much to abandon it


	18. Ts xx Vows

[Friday, August 25]

Snape was at his home in Spinners End. He had stopped by after finishing late from Harry's 'occlumency lessons' to finish packing for Hogwarts and closing the house fro the year. The discovery that the famous lightening bolt scar was actually a horcrux was a shock. Potter was nearly inconsolable, and his nightmares had returned. Lupin was bearing the burden of dealing with the surly and depressed teenager, while Severus merely brewed the boy a large batch of 'Dreamless Sleep' potion. Over the last few nights they had talked the issue through. They had to decide whether to continue the research of the birthday mystery, or to spend that time researching how to free Potter of the Dark Lord's soul fragment. Harry was the one to finally decide that since they finish with the few books that they had on Phoenician Runes, and then would look into removing the horcrux. In addition to his nightmares, Harry was also going through an identity crisis, wondering if the horcrux had been influencing him in any way - and how its removal would affect him.

They had just about a week to finish going through Khalil's books. Snape often got distracted by the material and had to make many notes on things he wanted to research more. Since the time he spent at Grimmauld Place was supposed to be spent instructing Potter on occlumency, Snape would often fire off sneak attacks to test the boy. Harry's occlumency had progressed nicely, and he was able to keep the professor out of his head - even when involved in other tasks. Snape found that he was enjoying the company of Potter and Lupin, which was odd for him. He felt a general mellowing of his usual sourness, but he did not want to let his guard down, lest Dumbledore figure something out. He was grateful he could relax when locked in the library at Grimmauld Place

Snape was pulled out of his musings by a knock on his door. He never normally had visitors at Spinners End since he lived the year at Hogwarts. He cast a quick spell at the door to determine who was there. He nearly swore when he saw it was Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. He opened the door to let them in and quickly took in their appearances. Bellatrix looked as she always did - relatively well put together but with an unsettling glitter in her eyes. Narcissa, surprisingly, looked worn down - which looked all the more obvious against her expensive, well cared for, robes. Snape assumed that the pressure of Lucius being in Azkaban was taking its toll on her.

Narcissa, realizing that Severus would not play the polite host to them, began talking as soon as the door was shut behind them.

"I will get straight to the point and not waste your time Severus The Dark Lord in increasing his punishment over Lucius' failure at the Ministry of Magic. Not only is he leaving Lucius to rot in Azkaban and not only has he taken over Malfoy Manor, but he is asking the impossible of Draco. If Draco fails, both he and Lucius will be killed by the Dark Lord's hand." Narcissa spoke clearly and passionately, looking directly into Severus' eyes - practically daring him to legillimize her to verify the truth of her statements.

Bellatrix hissed at her sister and her comments. "Master does not want his plans known to all." She warned.

Narcissa whipped her head around to face her sister. "I did not ask you to come with me Bella. I do not need a body guard. You be quiet and let me conduct my business."

"And just what _business_ is that, Narcissa?" Severus asked in an almost bored tone.

"I have come to ask you for help. Draco has been assigned an impossible task." Bellatrix hissed again, in warning. "I ask that you help him accomplish his task."

"Really, and just what do I get out of this deal?" Snape sneered.

"Name your price." Replied Narcissa, without hesitation.

Severus seemed to think it over. "Just what is this impossible task?"

"Digging for information to pass on to Dumbledore.?" Bellatrix screamed. "I know you can't be trusted, Snape. I don't know how you have managed to trick the Dark Lord."

"Either I am loyal to our Lord, Bella, or he is not as wise as you think. Which do you think it is?" Snape responded coolly. "Maybe I just want to know what it is I am agreeing to."

Bellatrix appealed to her sister. "He made it clear not to share his plans with anyone, you will be punished for this."

"As if I care for myself at this point." Narcissa raged to her sister. Turning back to Snape she continued, "He wants Draco to sneak in a group of followers into Hogwarts, undetected, for an attack on the school."

Severus nearly gaped at the news. The Dark Lord has truly gone mad if he was going to attack Hogwarts.

"I will agree to help Draco, for a future favor - from each of you."

All those present knew that 'owing a favor' (especially to a Slytherin) was almost like a life debt.

"I have nothing to do with this, " Bellatrix claimed. "You can not claim a favor from me."  
Severus fixed her with a glare. "You dare to come into my home and assist your sister in this quest, and then claim to not be a part in it - how truly foolish of you."

Narcissa cut off whatever her sister was going to say. "Will you make an unbreakable vow? So that there is no question that we can trust you - and you us of course." She said, referring mostly to her crazy sister.

After a moments thought Severus agreed, with the condition that the sisters vowed to owe him a favor, and not speak of the agreement to anyone.

It took a bit of fiddling to get the logistics together for a three-way vow. Severus grasped Narcissa's left hand with his, while she held her sister's who in turn held Severus'. With their wands in their right hands, Severus led Narcissa and Bellatrix reluctantly through their part of the vow by agreeing to owe Snape a favor. Narcissa then took over the wording of the vow. She tried to get Severus to vow 'to help Draco with his task as assigned by the Dark Lord', but Severus only vowed 'to help Draco with smuggling Death Eaters into Hogwarts, as assigned to him by the Dark Lord'. Narcissa ended the vows after that statement.

"Why didn't you use her wording, as is customary in such vows?" Raged Bellatrix.

"I agreed to exactly what we discussed. I know nothing of the Dark Lord's plans for Draco, save what you told me. With Narcissa's wording I would have been bound to help Draco with more than I knew about. And from your reaction I now assume that there is more to his task. Care to share?"

Narcissa quickly shushed her sister and got both of them out of Severus' home, before any confirmations or denials could be made. Severus realized he was right, but could not figure out what else Draco's task might include.


	19. Q xx 3 down ? to go

[Monday, August 28]

Severus Snape was enjoying a rare, relaxing moment in his chambers. In addition to his regular end of summer tasks - restocking potions, lesson plans, classroom preparation - he was also working on seeking an answer to the Potter mystery and answering to two egotistical masters. He had been waring himself thin with little sleep, little food and too much activity. After lunching in his rooms, he took up his neglected periodicals and a glass of wine and sat to read. A mere hour into his relaxation he heard a gong. He thought he was imagining it at first, until the sound repeated itself. The potions master realized it was the emergency signal. He quickly rushed out of his chambers towards the Headmaster's offices.

Apparently Severus was the last to arrive, because of his long trek from the dungeons. The sight that greeted him upon entering the old man's office was shocking. It was total and utter mayhem. Dumbledore was in his chair, slumped over his desk. On his left side was Poppy Pomfrey, the school's mediwitch, was hurriedly casting diagnostic and healing charms over the elderly wizard. Professor Flitwick, the short statured charms professor, was standing by the man's right side - also casting spells. The trinkets on the Headmaster's desk was blocking Snape's view of exactly what it was that Flitwick was casting his spells upon. Fawkes, the Headmaster's phoenix, was alternately dropping tears near where the charms professor stood, and into the Headmaster's lax mouth. There were six other professors in the room, casting spells and running about, taking commands from Pomfrey and Flitwick.

"Oh, good, Severus has arrived." Someone commented.

Flitwick looked up, caught Snape's eye and motioned him over. If the bedlam that greeted him when he entered the office wasn't shocking enough, the site that greeted the nearly unshakable professor was horrific. As Snape came around the desk he was finally able to see what it was that Flitwick was casting charms upon. It was the Headmaster's right hand, or it used to be. Instead there was a blackened, shriveled mass.

"Containment and protective spells, if you will." The ever polite Flitwick told Snape. Once Severus took over the casting of the spells on the Headmaster's hand, the tiny professor explained. "We found him like this. Poppy said not to move him until he has been stabilized and the curse or poison is contained." In the background Poppy was heard casting spells to speed up kidney function - useful in poisoning cases to clear the toxins out of the bloodstream. "There was a ring on his finger when he arrived. We managed to remove it and place it in that dragonhide pouch." Snape noted the black pouch among the mess on the desk. "We all know that you have the best chance of figuring out what caused this, curse or poison. When you are ready, I will take over the containment and protection spells and you can start on identifying the cause."

Snape appreciated Flitwick's no-nonsense approach to things, he spoke plainly and without undue emotion. Severus was honourerd that his colleagues appreciated his expertise, the same as he appreciated theirs (tho that usually was left unsaid).

He took a moment to finish the string of spells he was casting and then nodded to Flitwick, who seamlessly took up the casting. Snape then began casting numerous detection spells. He alternated between spells to reveal poisons - starting from the most general and continuing to the ones that would reveal traces of ingredients within poisons - and spells to detect and determine dark curses. Severus subconsciously noted that while he was casting McGonagall took up Flitwick's post of casting the containment spells, so the little man could rest. Poppy was also given a break by the Arithmancy professor. Someone had called both Aberforth, the Headmaster's brother, and St. Mungo's Hospital.

After what seemed like hours, but was really just over one, things began to wind down. Between Flitwick, McGonagall and Fawkes the decay had stopped spreading (halfway between the Headmaster's wrist and elbow). Snape was able to detect both a poison - in the form of a type of viper venom, and a curse - which he believed was based on an old, dark dessication curse. Poppy declared that Dumbledore's body was functioning on its own, though there seemed to be a strain on his magic, which is why the man was still unconscious.

No one wanted to remove Dumbledore from his office. They all hoped that the wards, that he had set himself, would make the office the safest place for him to heal. McGonagall transfigured a couch in the office into a typical hospital bed, and a chair into a nightstand. The elves re-arranged the room so it could be better used as a healing ward, and they made up the bed for the Headmaster and he was soon transferred to it. After agreeing to a schedule so that the Headmaster would not be left alone, the exhausted and hungry professors slowly trickled out of the office to get dinner. Fawkes tiredly tucked his head under his wing for a rest. Before he left Snape grabbed the pouch with the ring off of the desk. When the muggle-studies professor, the first to be watching Dumbledore, was ordering dinner from a house elf, Phineas Black disappeared from his portrait.

That night an emergency meeting of The Order of the Phoenix was called by Minerva McGonagall. She informed the members, all of whom were squished into the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, that their leader had fallen ill and would not be available for Order business until after the opening of school. She did not mention the severity of his illness nor the reason for it. Moody and the other aurors in attendance, who were constantly frustrated with the lack of action against Voldemort, suggested that they take this opportunity to actually _do_ something. McGonagall and the Weasleys were staunchly opposed to starting anything without Dumbledore's approval. So, the Order was going to continue monitoring the situation and trying to gather evidence against the Death Eaters.

Severus, Remus and Harry went to the library after the meeting for 'occlumency lessons'. Remus was not surprised at the meeting by McGonagall's announcement, because Phineas had told them already. Phineas' portrait had been put in the library shortly after Kreature accepted Harry as his master. The portrait was now empty because he was in the Headmaster's office keeping an eye on Dumbledore.

Snape brought out the ring that had ruined Dumbledore's hand. Both Remus and Severus thought that the design on the stone looked familiar, but Harry was more concerned with the sleazy feeling that the ring emitted. He was convinced that it felt like the locket. Sure enough, after some testing, it was determined that the ring was another horcrux.

"Another one? How many of these damn things does he have?" A very frustrated Harry asked.

Neither of the men present had an answer for Harry. They seemed to have yet another mystery on their hands. Not having the answers they turned to the issues at hand. Having three horcruxes - the locket, the ring, and Harry - in the same place had forced them into action. Severus was convinced that them being in such close proximity for an extended time would either strengthen them or alert the Dark Lord. Harry explained to Snape how to get into Slytherin's chamber in order to retrieve a basilisk fang, the only known way to destroy the horcruxes. After a bit of planning, Severus recorded Harry hissing '_open'_ in parseltongue and returned to Hogwarts.

The potions master returned two hours later with several fangs (and the promise to Harry of **huge** profits for the rest of the parts). The ring, though not the stone that was in it, and the locket were finally destroyed. Harry, half in fear and half in frustration at the situation, nearly drove a fang into his head, trying to be rid the other horcrux, but they stopped him and promised to try to get another solution.

Harry, after ingesting a calming draught and two fingers of fire whiskey, called Kreature to the library. In thanks to the elf, Harry gave him Slytherin's locket, which now sported a hole in its center, as a gift. The elf was very happy that Master Regulus' final command had finally been fulfilled. He still referred to Harry as 'Unworthy Master', even when in private, but Harry realized that it was no longer meant disrespectfully.

Just before they were getting ready to leave the library for the night, Phineas Black popped into his portrait to reported that the Headmaster seemed to be waking.

"Poor sod is delirious." Phineas snarked. "He hasn't said anything except 'I shall master the three'."

Snape returned to Hogwarts to be there for Dumbledore's awakening and Remus and Harry went off to bed..


	20. R xx 2 steps forward 1 behind

[Wednesday, August 30]

Dumbledore woke late in the evening, the same day that he had fallen ill. Two days later he was still weak and his right hand was still shriveled. He would never regain his hand for the curse could not be reversed. Poppy confined him to bed. Being that school was about to start, the heads of house were being run ragged picking up the administrative slack in his absence. Dumbledore fought Madam Pomfrey over his restriction, but his efforts did not sway her, they only left him tired. When he was well enough, Dumbledore asked about the ring. Flitwick had told them that they got rid of it. The Headmaster exhausted himself trying to convince them to tell them where it was (while not revealing why it was important). Dumbledore was able to rest when Snape told him that while researching what may have happened to his hand, a potions accident - involving basilisk venom - had destroyed the ring. The Headmaster seemed both pleased and disappointed with the answer.

* * *

Harry was feeling quite guilty about lying to his friends. He wanted to tell them about what had happened on his birthday. He wanted to share the news of his improved relationship with his family, Remus and Snape. He was worried though what would happen if he did. He knew that Hermione blindly respected authority and she might not believe that the Headmaster was involved in anything bad towards him. She would also dive into researching things, like his dreams and him being a horcurx, in a most obvious way. He loved her but he couldn't trust her not to act with this information. Ron, on the other hand, would explode. He didn't do subtle, and soon enough everyone in the house would know things Harry would prefer to keep secret. He was not as concerned about Ginny's reaction, but then again he was not as close to her and would normally not share something this personal with her.

To make up for all the secrets he was keeping from them, Harry freely shared any information he could with his friends. He had told them that Snape was forced (because of Harry) to accept 'EE' students into NEWT potions, in addition to the 'O' students. Ron had not even managed Exceeds Expectations, so only Harry and Hermione would be taking NEWT level potions.

He was also able to pass along some of the information about the Order meetings - with Lupin's permission, claiming that he would overhear Lupin and Snape talking about it while he was in his Occlumency lessons. At first the other kids were very excited to be getting the information, until they realized that there really wasn't much going on. They sometimes wondered why there was so much secrecy surrounding the Order, when really they did not do much.

Harry was able to show the symbol from the ring to them. . He told them, truthfully, that it came off the ring that had cursed the Headmaster, and that he saw it because Snape was researching the curse/poison on the ring and had left it out before one of the lessons. Ron and Ginny both thought it looked familiar, but could not place it. Hermione made a copy of it so she could research it. Harry was pleased that he was able to give her something to research.

It was just two days before they were supposed to be returning to Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley was no longer able to push off a trip to Diagon Alley. They had not gone earlier because Dumbledore had said not to, because of security reasons. Now that Dumbledore was incapacitated, there was no waiting for his OK. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were able to get two Order members to help keep the kids safe during the trip there.

Flourish and Blotts was packed with people. It seemed to Harry that no one in the wizarding world could shop early for school. On the positive side, for Harry at least, it was so busy and people were so rushed that no one seemed to notice who he was. The downside of the experience was that he kept getting elbowed by adults and kept bumping into children. When Harry had finished collecting all of his school books he began to make his way to the cashier. On his way he managed to knock over a small child, obviously the younger sibling of a Hogwarts student. As Harry was helping the little girl to her feet (while apologizing profusely) he noticed one of the books she had dropped. It was a children's story book, 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard'. The cover was a bright and moving collage of images pertaining to the stories in the book. One of these images was the symbol that Harry had seen on the ring that cursed Dumbledore. After righting the girl and her books, Harry made his way to the children's section and added one more book to his pile before finally making his purchase and leaving the store.

When the group was leaving Madam Malkin's robe shop, and making their way to the apothecary Ron spotted Draco Malfoy skulking into Knockturn Alley. The kids wanted to follow but realized they would not be able to because of their security guards. Ron stood outside of the apothecary shop and tracked Malfoy. He was pretty sure that the shop he went into was Borgin and Burke's.

* * *

While the group was doing its shopping, Remus had all of Grimmauld Place to himself, except for Kreature. After Harry had given the elf the destroyed locket, the elf had become much more helpful. The elf was cleaning and cooking, and though it was not apparent from the outside that he was happy about it, the elf was once again sane and happy. The Black Mansion was still a dreary place, but it was no longer grimy and teaming with dark vermin. Kreature had also taken to helping Harry, Remus and Severus when no one was looking. The elf would deliver messages for Lupin from Snape sent via Phineas Black's portrait. He also knew everything about the house, including the library and was able to help pick out the proper books that were needed for the werewolf's research. While the house was empty, Lupin read through the books that Kreature had given him on horcruces [horcruxes? horcrii?]. One old and dark book had the answer that Remus was looking for, and hoping for. A horcrux was created by breaking apart ones soul, and then - using a very dark ritual - putting one of the bits into a container. The process of transferring the soul to a different container used the same ritual, but instead of taking the soul-piece from ones self, they would take it from the existing horcrux container. Harry could be rid of the bit of Voldemort's soul that was lodged in his scar by creating a horcrux using that bit. Remus sent a message to Snape via the portrait. Because they were dealing with the Dark Arts, Snape would have to help Harry with the ritual.

After returning to Grimmauld Place, the four Hogwarts students went the boy's room. Harry had mentioned the book he found and they all wanted to see it. They read the story related to the marking - 'A tale of the Three Brothers'. Harry and Hermione were fascinated by the tale of the three brothers meeting and receiving gifts from Death, never having heard it before. Ron and Ginny realize why the symbol looked so familiar, every wizard child grew up knowing Beedle the Bard's tales. The kids ended up joking around at their research project that ended up being a fairy tale.

Harry and Remus met in the library after lunch. Harry could tell that Remus had some news for him. He was thrilled to hear that removing the horcrux would be relatively easy. Harry was upset that it had to wait until he and Snape could perform the ritual. The potions master had already sent a message back to Remus that he would prepare the Chamber of Secrets for the ritual, since it was the only place he could think of that would be truly private. Harry then told Remus about the book he found and the story behind the stone. Both of them quickly made the connection between the stone from the ring and Harry's invisibility cloak. Thinking back on the other night, Lupin remembered Phineas relaying Dumbledore's delirious ramblings of mastering the three. He then realized that Dumbledore's wand was the third hallow. The more mysteries they solve, the more that open up in front of them...

* * *

next chapter - Return to Hogwatrs


	21. Sh xx Back at Hogwarts

[Saturday, Sept 2]

While the Headmaster had been at the Welcoming Feast, he was absent from breakfast and lunch the next day. When he did make it down for dinner, he kept his right hand hidden in his sleeve at all times. Harry was not the only one that noticed both his absence during meals, and his use of his left hand. He looked around the hall during dinner and noticed that quite a few people were looking at the Headmaster during the meal.

After the meal was finished Professor McGonagall gave Harry a note.

"What's up mate?" asked Ron.

"The Headmaster wants to see me." He answered. None of his friends commented since this was a usual event.

During his meeting with the old wizard, Harry could tell the man was quite exhausted. He sat in his chair and barely moved. Most unusual for the Headmaster was that he did not beat around the bush when Harry arrived.

"Harry, my boy, I fear I have little time left in this world and I have much that I need to tell you." He began.

For the next hour Harry listened as Dumbledore explained about a young orphaned student named Tom Riddle. How the student evolved into Voldemort. He told Harry that Voldemort created six horcruxes in order to try to become immortal.

"I fear I am too tired to continue tonight, Harry. Perhaps you can return another night to hear more?" The old Headmaster asked.

"Yes sir. Feel better. Good night, sir." Harry said as he left.

Harry had listened silently. He already knew much of what Dumbledore had related. There were already three destroyed horcruxes, but the news that there were three more, four including Harry's own scar, was disheartening.

* * *

[Monday, Sept 4]

As usual, Harry managed to get in trouble with Snape the very first day of classes. The only difference between this and other years, was this time, Harry earned the detention on purpose. The detention had given Severus and Harry an opportunity to talk, it was the first time in a week that they were able to, and there was a lot to catch up on. The most important matter was removing Harry's horcrux. It was decided that the coming Friday night they would perform the ritual. This way, Harry could use the weekend to recover if need be.

Professor Snape told Harry that Lupin had taken over researching the mystery from his birthday. There was no news yet, but Lupin was quickly finishing with the books, being that headquarters was now empty. There was a certain amount of tension concerning this, if the answer was not in the books that Snape had borrowed from his Middle-Eastern friend, then there was little chance of finding what they were looking for.

Harry explained to Snape how they found the symbol from the stone that came off the ring. He also laid out the theory that Dumbledore's wand was the Elder Wand from the story. Snape was still in possession of the stone, and he wondered out loud if Harry would be able to defeat the Dark Lord if he were in possession of all three hallows. Harry was a bit creeped out by the concept.

Snape told Harry about his vow to Narcissa, to help Draco bring Death Eaters into the school. Harry was upset for Snape's sake that he had to make such a vow. Snape, while flattered at the boy's concern, was not worried at all. He knew how to work the vow without risk to himself. Both were concerned about what would happen to the students when Draco did succeed in bringing Voldemort's minions into the school. Hopefully, with Snape on the inside of the planning, there would not be any students injured.

It was already getting late when Harry told his professor about the meeting he had with Dumbledore the previous night.

"There are three more?" Snape asked. "Does the old man know what they are?"

"We didn't get that far, he was too tired to continue." Harry answered. "Sometimes I think we know more about it than he does." The boy griped.

"You will do well to get all the information that you can from the Headmaster. He was able to find and retrieve the ring, hopefully he knows where the rest are. Once we know where they are, we can destroy them."

Harry was used to being set up by the Headmaster to do things on his own, or only with his friends to help. Retrieving the Philosopher's Stone, rescuing Ginny from the Chamber - Harry now knew that all those had been tests set up by Dumbledore. He assumed the Headmaster was trying to set up the hunt for the horcruxes as another test for Harry. He was relieved though that this time he had adults to help him.

* * *

[Friday Sept 8]

After curfew Harry sneaked out of Gryffindor tower, with his broom in hand, hiding under his invisibility cloak. He silently made his way to Myrtle's bathroom. Inside, he met with Snape, who was also holding a broom. Harry accessed the Chamber and they both slid down the tunnel and walked to Slytherin's lair.

Snape had been very busy harvesting the usable parts of the giant snake. He was introducing them into the market slowly, so the price would not drop too much. The cool chamber was the perfect place to warehouse the parts before they were put on the market. The farthest side of the Chamber held piles of basilisk parts. On the near side of the Chamber Snape had put a small table, to be used during the ceremony, and a cot. It was unknown what affect removing the horcrux would have on Harry, so the cot was there as a precautionary measure. Snape had also loaded many of his pockets with healing potions.

Harry was well informed about the ritual that he had to perform. Snape had given him detentions during the week that were used to teach Harry all about it. They were going to use a simple glass vial as the horcrux. The container used had to be in its original form, not conjured or transfigured. There were five steps to making a horcrux. First, the container had to be prepared before it could accept the soul piece, Then the soul must be prepared for extraction. Both of these were considered Dark Arts because blood was used in the ritual. The actual transfer of the soul to the container was a simple spell, though it would not work if the preparations were not done. The soul then had to be sealed, with a potion (that Snape had prepared) and secured with the Dark Arts. If the magic used to secure the horcrux wasn't Dark, then the soul would return to its former location. Snape did not want to teach Harry any Dark curses to apply to the horcrux. It was decided that Harry would set a ward on the horcrux, using a parseltongue password. Parseltongue is itself considered dark, so that would be enough. Snape recorded Harry's password, in case the extraction removed his ability to speak the language of snakes.

Harry placed a nickel bowl on the table, and in the bowl placed the vial. He lanced his finger with a needle and said -_para habeo anima- _ before letting a drop of his blood spill onto the vial. The container was ready. To prepare his soul piece for extraction, his blood had to be spilled while he uttered the incantation. The book clearly stated that the smallest soul fragment would be the one extracted. It was Magic's way of protecting the wizard. Still, Harry was worried that his whole soul would come out instead of Vodemort's. He briefly looked at Snape. His professor had a stony look on his face, but his jaw was clenched in tension. Harry took a fortifying breath and cut his palm with a dagger. While his blood was freely spilling onto the floor he incanted -_para substantia captus-_. Harry did not feel any different yet, but he was not finished.

After another deep breath he said the third phrase -_iunctum pro ego sum infinitio- _to transfer the soul fragment to the vial. Harry felt a little bit light headed after this. He supposed if he whole soul was gone that it would be worse. He smiled a bit at the thought and pressed on. He took the potion from Snape and poured it on into the bowl. The vial instantly absorbed it. Finally he cast the warding spell. Snape was ready with his wand to replay the recorded version of the password he chose, but it was not needed. Harry spoke the password '_fluffy bunnies'_, clearly in parseltongue. A smile lit up Harry's face for an instant, before he passed out.

Harry had completed the ritual at 10:38 PM. At 2:13 AM, Snape, under a disillusionment spell, deposited a still unconscious Harry onto his dorm bed.

Harry slept until dinner time Saturday. When he came down to the common room, after a long, hot shower, all of his friends burst out in questions. Harry was grinning like an idiot. He thought it was wonderful that his friends were so concerned about him sleeping the day away. He felt like a new man, lighter and happier than he could ever remember. His friends did not seem to believe that he was OK, because he had been in bed all day, so to convince them he lifted Hermione off the floor and twirled her around. When Ginny giggled he did the same to her, and then to four other Gryffindor girls. When Ron told him he was weird, Harry lifted him up too, All the friends were laughing on their way down to dinner.

Snape saw Harry enter the Great Hall. The boy was laughing with his friends. More than the laughter though, Snape could see his eyes sparkling. Harry looked younger than he had the day before. He was glad to see Harry at the meal, eating like a normal teenage boy (or two), seemingly none the worse for wear.

Later that night Lupin came through from headquarters to Snape's room, carrying with him the books that Snape had borrowed from Khalil.

"I found it." was all Lupin said, and opened one of the books for Snape to read. The page that Lupin had opened had three Phoenician letters on each side of the title. They were the exact six letters that they had been searching for during the last month.

**The Nimrod Curse/The Six Coercions  
**

_This scarcely used, ancient curse is one of the most subtle known to wizardkind. The curse itself is preformed in two parts. First, the curse is inflicted upon a minor child. The child is considered the 'object' of the curse. Second, the 'enablers' of the curse are inflicted with coercions. There can be any number of 'enablers' who are influenced by any combination of The Six Coercions - fury (yod), hate (cof), envy (ayin), torment (peh), shame (resh) and terror (shin). The emotions behind The Coercions must exist in the each 'enabler' before the curse is inflicted upon the 'object', else The Coercions will not affect them. The Coercions are generally stabilized by the runes associated with them but may also be reinforced verbally, by Compelling charms._

_Created by the cruel king, Nimrod the Patient, when he was still just a senior advisor to King Gomer. Nimrod had ascended in the ranks of the king's advisors, and by the young age of thirty was his second in command. It was assumed that Nimrod would inherit the kingdom to the childless, aged king. On the king's 100th birthday, he took a bride and a child was born the same year. Prince Ryfat was doted on by the king. Nimrod used this curse to sow discourse against the prince. King Gomer died in his 105th year and the young prince was crowned. By the time Ryfat was twenty, there were enough people in the kingdom against him for Nimrod to start a civil war. The young king was defeated and Nimrod ruled._

Severus read through the twisted history of the curse. The curse's purpose was to turn people against a child. Even he, Severus Snape - Master of potions and poisons and ex-Deatheater saw this as a true perversion of Magic. It took people's existing negative or weak emotions and twisted and exaggerated them into something evil. According to the book, the few recorded incidents of the curse breaking occurred on the _object's _ birthday of majority, when it occurred on the new moon. Apparently if the child's magic was stronger than the caster's the curse would break. The theory of the author was that since the curse reflected the negative emotions of the _enablers_, in the same way that the moon reflects the sun's light, that when the moon is new there is no reflection. This happening at the same time as magical maturity snaps the curse.

Both Lupin and Snape still had questions. Between the two of them - and a bottle of whiskey - they were able to work through most of their major issues. Lupin's grasp of Magical Theory, partnered with Snape's highly analytical mind was able to tackle most of the questions.

Wizards reached their majority at 17 in Great Britain. They believed that the curse was broken on the night of Harry's 16th birthday, and not his 17th, because the age of majority was a random legal declaration, while 16 must be Magic's. After all, muggles reach majority at 18 or 21, depending on the location. Some religions determine majority to be 12, 13 or 16. It was not out of line to believe that Magic determined majority to be at 16.

The letter that the Dursley's kept, Snape's apple tray and Lupin's pendant were all charging the Coercions. Harry's (and their own) dreams included all of the conversations where the Headmaster had Compelled them to act against Harry. In Snape's case Dumbledore would frequently remind him how much he hated the senior Potter, his sorrow at losing Lily and his shame of having been involved in their deaths. With Lupin, Dumbledore reminded him of his sorrow at losing his best friends, his anger at Sirius' (supposed) betrayal and the fear he had of his condition and how because of that he couldn't care for Harry. They both assumed that Petunia was jealous of Lily and both Dursleys feared and hated magic. They figured that these emotions were enough to carry over to Harry. Sirius was certainly emotional enough to be compelled to run after Pettigrew instead of taking care of Harry after the Potter's deaths.

While all these questions seemed settled in their minds, the major question that wasn't settled was **Why?** Why would Dumbledore do this? The man was not stupid and obviously did not think he would get caught. He either believed himself stronger than Harry, or misunderstood which birthday to check for a new moon. Even so, the two wizards did not understand what could have motivated their mentor, the supposed 'Leader of the Light', to curse a child in such a way. They did not believe that Dumbledore would act against Harry directly, nor did they think he had any way of knowing the curse was broken. Harry and them would be safe, as long as they did not confront the man about his actions. Which meant that the question of **Why** would likely never be answered.

* * *

[A/N - Latin spells were made up and while based on Latin words, probably don't really mean anything. Nimrod is also made up but named after the Biblical character.]


	22. T xx And so it ends

[Fri Sep 22 (pm)]

Professors Snape and Sinistra found Harry wallking in the halls of Hogwarts an hour after curfew.

"Detention Potter, with me, after breakfast tomorrow morning." Snape snapped at the boy.

"I am returning from a meeting with the Headmaster, Sir." Harry explained.

But since Harry did not have a pass from the Headmaster, the detention stayed, and five points were removed from Griffindor's counters. As Harry walked away he heard Professor Sinistra asking Professor Snape why he was always so gruff with 'the young Mr. Potter'.

When Harry finally made it back to his common room he was greeted by his best friends, who were waiting up for him.

"How'd the meeting with Dumbledore go?" Asked Ron.

Harry explained to them how the Headmaster was teaching him about Tom Riddle's life.

"Then I got caught by Snape on my way back. Five points and a detention in the morning." Harry griped.

* * *

[Sat Sep 23 (am)]

Harry had just started eating breakfast when Professor Snape approached him.

"Follow me, Potter." He ordered.

"I just started eating, Sir." Harry said. "You said detention started after breakfast."

"Indeed, and as I have just finished my breakfast, your detention is starting." Snape began to walk out of the Great Hall, knowing his student would follow.

Harry looked longingly at his plate of food, but followed his professor as instructed. When the door to the potions class was shut behind them, the older wizard spoke.

"I apologize for that, but I must keep up appearances." Snape explained.

"I know," said Harry, "But do you have to be such a git about it?"

Before Harry could complain more, a plate of food popped into existence on the student table in front of the professor's desk. Harry's anger deflated immediately.

"Sorry Sir."

Snape waved him off.

"I know that it is difficult for both us when we have to treat each other as we used to, in public. Sit, eat and tell me about your meeting last night."

Harry did just that.

"The Headmaster told me about that the diary was a horcrux. He told me the history of the ring in the Gaunt family and how he found it. He did not tell me how he destroyed it or how it cursed him. He also told me about the locket and its history, but not where he thinks it was hidden. He thinks Nagini is a horcrux along with Hufflepuff's cup. He believes there is one more but he doesn't know what it is."

"No mention of your scar?" Snape asked.

"No, none Sir."

After about two hours of talking, Snape handed Harry a jar of cream.

"Rub a small amount into your hands, like hand lotion. It will give the effect of having scrubbed cauldrons but will not have any long term effects."

Snape was treated to a wide smile from Harry. "Brilliant, Sir."

* * *

[Wed Oct 4]

During a meeting in the Room of Requirement with Draco, to 'help' with his task, Snape saw the Ravenclaw diadem. He began to randomly cast spells at objects in the room. He cast a tickling hex at a pair of boots and _impedimenta _at an old trunk. Draco asked what he was doing.

"I am bored so I am testing the affects of jinxes on inanimate objects." The professor explained. He then cast a detection at the diadem and determined that it was indeed a horcrux. He cast a few more random charms at even more random objects. Draco soon finished explaining his plan to get the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, using vanishing cabinet - it's partner cabinet being at Borgin and Burke's in Knockturn Alley. The boy was having trouble fixing it and Snape was going to 'help'. On his way out of the room Snape pocketed the diadem.

* * *

[Sat Oct 14]

Severus had been called to a small Death Eater meeting to get an update from the Dark Lord on the future attack on Hogwarts. Luckily for all present, no crucios were administered. After the meeting Snape asked Bellatrix to talk with him privately. They moved to a quiet corner of the hall, and cast the proper secrecy charms.

"You seemed restless today Bella, is there a problem?" Snape asked, obviously not interested, but making a point of noticing her unease at the meeting.

Her eyes narrowed at the potions master. "I am The Lord's most valued and loyal servant. It bothers me that he wastes his time throwing favor your way." She complained.

"Are you? His most favored I mean. Would he drink a potion you handed him?" They both knew the answer was no. Bellatrix was known for her darker curses, not her potions work. "So what makes you think you are special to our Lord?" Snape teased

"You think you are so great?" Bella nearly screeched, "But did our Lord give you his treasures to keep safe? Of course not, only his most favored.."

"Ah, but he did my dear Bella." Snape answered smoothly.

"I don't believe you." She claimed.

"Well, not to boast, but I was given an ancient artifact - from one of Hogwarts founders. Can you claim the same?" He asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact." She stated, with an air of importance.

"Really, well that is interesting. I want it my dear Bella."

The witch scoffed. "And why would I give it to you?"

"Because if you don't, it will be interesting to see you fare without your magic. I am calling in the favor you owe me for making the vow."

"I will tell our Lord that you are blackmailing me." She claimed, trying to get out of having to give Snape her treasure.

"The vow was your idea, along with your sister. I can only imagine that he would disapprove of you more for initiating the idea, than for me going along with it. And that would still leave you without magic. Do you think our Lord would approve of you then?"

His words were left hanging as he stalked away.

The next day Bellatrix and Severus met, and she handed over the cup.

* * *

[Mon Oct 30 - 3rd meeting between Harry and Dumbledore]

As Harry and the Headmaster headed to the end of Hogwarts wards, Harry asked where they were going.

"Do not fear my boy. Just hold on to my sleeve and I will apparate us." The twinkly eyed man answered.

They arrived next to a cave. Harry realized immediately that they were there to retrieve the locket horcrux... which wasn't there.

Harry refused to go in claiming it was because the Headmaster wasn't well enough to deal with the things that may come up inside.

"Sir, that side-along apparation took a lot out of you, and I wouldn't know how to deal with anything too difficult - I am only a 6th year after all."

The old man was not convinced and tried to force Harry into the cave. Harry had to disarm the man to get him to stop.  
"Perhaps you would be able to handle things inside, my boy." the Headmaster said.

"Perhaps, Sir, you are just weaker than you realize."

And with that, Harry apparated the two of them back to Hogwarts.

* * *

[Tues Oct 31]

At breakfast a teary-eyed Professor Sinistra announced that the Headmaster had fallen ill, and classes for the day were canceled. On her way out of the Great Hall, she asked Harry to accompany her to the Headmaster's office. The office was occupied with nearly all of the Hogwart's staff. Professor McGonagall informed Harry that the Headmaster was dying, and that he had requested to see Harry.

Harry entered Dumbledore's private rooms. The old man was laid out on a large bed. He looked as weak and old as you would expect a 128 year old man to look.

"Ah, my dear boy. I am so glad you made it. There is still so much I wished to teach you, but alas, it is not to be." The old man wheezed out.

"Sir, have you told me all you know about the horcruxes?" Harry asked.

"Yes. There is one in the cave we visited last night. I wish I knew where the others were and what the last one was. I trust you though, lad, to figure it out."

"Have you told me all I need know to defeat him?" Harry asked, a bit of desperation in his voice.

"I have tried my boy. I thought I would have more time." The Headmaster was weakening.

"Is there anything else I need to know? Is there anything else you are keeping from me?" Harry demanded.

"I wish I could tell you more..." Dumbledore began. The young wizard's anger confusing him.

"Well then, I have a few things to tell you." Harry started, taking control of the conversation. "The horcruxes are gone! Even the one in my scar." The Headmaster's eyes widened. "Oh, you knew about that did you. Just how was I to defeat Voldemort if he was still tied to this plane? Don't answer that." Harry snapped when he saw the Headmaster trying to respond."It was rhetorical. Save your strength for more. The only one remaining is the snake, which we won't be able to get to until we get to Voldemort himself. The one you did not know about was Ravenclaws Diadem, it was in the room of requirement, which by the way is being used by Draco to try to bring in Death Eaters into the school.

"I know about the curse you put on me as a baby, I just don't know why... and I don't think I care. As I said, I don't want you to talk, I want you to save your strength and listen, and watch.

"I know what needs to be done to defeat the Dark Lord. By the way," Harry said as he took the old man's wand. "I think you were hoping I would die in the process, a martyr, but gone." He removed a muggle pencil from his robes, and transfigured it - using the Headmaster's elder wand - to an exact copy of the same wand. "What's more is, I know I don't have to. Nagini needs to die, and then Voldy can be removed, once and for all. And the whole while I can be somewhere safe." Harry put a charm on the elder wand to look like his holly wand, and then pocketed the holly wand.

"Goodbye Sir. I do hope you enjoy your next great adventure. I will enjoy my current one without you here to make me miserable."

With those last words, Harry left the room.

That evening Professor McGonagall became headmistress and Professor Flitwick deputy. School was canceled for two more days, to bury and mourn the great Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore: Order of Merlin, First Class - Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards - Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot..

* * *

]In conclusion]

With the Headmaster gone, Harry was able to come clean with Ron and Hermione about some of the secrets he was keeping. He did not tell them about Nimrod's curse, leaving them to look up to the Headmaster as they remembered him. He told them what he could about his summer and the horcruxes, even the one that was in himself. He did tell them about his new relationship with his relatives, Snape and Lupin.

In November there was a raid on Malfoy Manor, that led to the beheading of Nagini and the killing of Voldemort. Many of the captured Death Eaters claimed imperius (again) but with their previous records it was not accepted.

Many of the Death Eaters tried to bargain with the Ministry, giving names of Death Eaters for reduced time in Azkaban. A number of times the name Severus Snape was mentioned. Snape was not arrested as a Death Eater, having pensive testimony from the late great Albus Dumbledore, affidavits from many upstanding members of the Order of the Phoenix, and the Chosen One himself - Harry Potter.

With the death of Voldemort, Snape was able to relax. He became less grumpy, more fair and therefore a better teacher. The tension between himself and Harry was publicly renounced. By the end of the year he had clearly become an important adult figure in the boy's life.

Harry spent the summer at Grimmauld Place with Snape and Lupin. The two men insisted on giving Harry a real summer vacation. Harry saw his first movie, went to an amusement park and even spent a week at the beach. For once, Harry was just a normal teen

(If you overlooked that fact that he was the strongest wizard in Great Britain and the master of the three hallows... wink wink)

* * *

A/Ns

1. In the rush to finish the previous chapter, I forgot to mention that his freaky big growth spurt was the curse breaking. When the curse broke, all the physical affects of it were undone, including undoing the damage that was caused by the curse via his relatives' abuse.

2. Thank you all for reading. I am especially grateful to those that took the time to review. I tried to answer all of them personally.

3. Thank you also to everyone that favorited and alerted this story.

I loved the idea. I loved writing it. I am sorry its over.

ALBI


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